The Past in the Present
by CoffeeDrinker
Summary: Luke and Lorelai need to work through their past issues in order to rebuild their relationship. Picks up at their kiss in "Bon Voyage."
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Luke and Lorelai reconciled in the series finale, but they needed to work through some of their past issues before jumping back into coupledom. This story picks up at their kiss in "Bon Voyage" and will focus on the first few weeks of them trying to rebuild their relationship.

. . . . .

**The Past in the Present  
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They were wrapped in each other's arms kissing passionately, and in that moment, everything was right in the world. Lorelai briefly forgot that she had to say goodbye to Rory the next morning. Luke became oblivious to the party guests waiting for more burgers. And they both forgot about all the pain and hurt that they'd been through.

As they finally parted, Lorelai drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, this is…we just…" Her voice trailed off and she stared deeply into his eyes as she whispered, "Wow."

"I know," he nodded as he pulled her into a hug. She closed her eyes and lay her head against his chest as her body molded to his.

Over the past few years, some of the moments when she'd felt the safest, the most comforted, had been when she was nestled in his strong arms. As his hands began softly caressing her back, Lorelai felt a tingle rush down her spine and she let out a content sigh.

Luke smoothed a hand over her hair before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I hated being apart from you."

"Me, too," she replied. "I missed you so much." She lifted her head from his chest and met his gaze. His eyes were filled with a sincere passion that she hadn't seen in a long time. "I missed _us_."

"Me, too," Luke agreed as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. "You have no idea."

Lorelai glanced over at the party, then shook her head at him in disbelief. "I can't believe you did all this."

"Well, she needed a big sendoff," he said with a shrug. "But everyone pitched in."

Lorelai smiled. "It's incredible. She's over the moon right now."

Luke smiled. "Good." He reached for her hand. "Come here." He led her toward the entrance of the diner and they went inside.

Luke left her standing by the door as he went to retrieve the pink necklace box he'd tucked away in the drawer under the counter.

He walked back to her and handed her the box. "Here… this is for you."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side with a surprised smile. "Luke." She opened the box, gasping softly as she pulled out the necklace. "Oh, wow, it's beautiful." She gently fingered the delicate blue charm, and then smiled at him appreciatively. "Thank you, I love it."

Luke smiled. "Good." That feeling washed over him…that heady rush of satisfaction he felt anytime he brought her any amount of happiness. He was addicted to that rush like she was to coffee.

Lorelai placed the necklace back in the box and handed it to him. "Here, hold this a sec." She removed the necklace she was wearing, slipped it into the pocket of her jeans, and then took the new one from the box and unclasped it. She secured it around her neck, patted it against her chest, and then smiled at him. "There. How's it look?"

"Perfect," he confirmed with a nod. He put the empty box on the table next to him and stepped closer to her.

"Thank you." Lorelai took his hand in hers and stared down at it as she aimlessly drew circles on his palm with her thumb. She had an overwhelming amount of thoughts and emotions going through her head, but she knew they had to be smart about this. They couldn't just pick up with their relationship right where they had left off. Things had ended badly and they couldn't ignore the reasons why.

She exhaled slowly as she brought her gaze up to meet his. "Luke, I know we apologized to each other already… about that _stuff_ that happened. But I think we need to talk things out more… you know, before we can really think about getting back together."

"Yeah, I know, we do," Luke agreed.

"I mean, if _getting back together_ is what you want," Lorelai quickly added. "I don't even know if we're both on the same page. I _think_ you are, but I don't wanna assume that you are if -"

"I am, Lorelai," Luke interrupted her, squeezing her hand. "Us, together…that's what I want."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good…that's the page I'm on. Not just that page, actually… that exact sentence."

"Glad to hear it," Luke replied, smiling as he brought his hands up to caress her arms.

She loved that smile…she had seen very little of it over the past year, and had missed it tremendously. She raised her gaze up from his smile to his blue eyes. Often a man of very few words, his eyes could speak volumes. Right now they were staring back at her filled with such warmth and emotion that her heart was beginning to race.

Lorelai blinked a few times to break free of his mesmerizing gaze and she cleared her throat. "So, um, then, we should talk." She glanced out the window at the party, then back at Luke. "Not now, obviously, but maybe tomorrow…after I drop Rory off at the airport?"

Luke nodded. "Okay."

Lorelai put her hand over the necklace and said sincerely, "I love this, thank you."

"You're welcome." Luke kissed her softly, then gestured toward the door. "I guess we should probably get back out there."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, and they exited the diner. Luke grabbed the bag of charcoal and headed over to the grill as Lorelai went to find Rory in the crowd.

A few people had seen their kiss and the news had spread around the party like wildfire. Lorelai was hounded for details about what it meant and whether they were back together, but did her best to keep things vague and private. Luke wasn't hounded nearly as much, as a quick irritated glare in their direction would usually make the inquirers run off in search of other gossip sources.

Luke and Lorelai chatted casually throughout the night, and when they weren't together, shared occasional glances and smiles across the crowd.

When the party was winding down and people began cleaning up, Lorelai walked over to Luke. "Can we help clean up?" she asked from behind him.

Luke had been scrubbing down the grill and he turned around to face her, grabbing the dishtowel draped over his shoulder to wipe his hands. He immediately saw a sadness in her eyes that he hadn't noticed earlier. As Rory's remaining time in Stars Hollow was ticking down, so too was the ability for Lorelai to hide her emotions. It pained him, knowing what she must be feeling inside.

Luke shook his head and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Get her home," he insisted. "Finish packing, spend some time with her."

Lorelai nodded appreciatively. "Okay." She glanced toward the diner, then back at him. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"Anything," he responded.

"Any chance you'd be able to make mother and daughter a little goodbye breakfast tomorrow?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "Like around five-ish?"

Luke smiled. "You got it."

"Thank you." Lorelai hugged him and kissed his cheek, then added, "For everything. The party, the necklace… everything."

Luke nodded. "You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory had an early breakfast at the diner, and when they were ready to head to the airport, Luke walked them outside to the Jeep.

Rory opened the passenger door, then turned back to Luke. "Thanks for breakfast, Luke."

"Any time," he replied.

"And again, thanks for all you did for the party," Rory said sincerely. "It was incredible."

Luke smiled. "I'm glad you liked it." He paused, suddenly realizing he was feeling as emotional with Rory's sendoff as he'd felt saying goodbye to his own daughter. He cleared his throat and shook his head in disbelief. "This is… wow. You know, you…heading off into the world…" Luke sighed. "You're all grown up."

"Happened pretty fast, huh?"

"Extremely," Luke replied with a nod. "Good luck with the new job. You take care of yourself out there on the road."

Rory nodded. "I will. And you take care of things here." She swallowed hard before quietly adding, "And, you know…the _people,_ too. Take care of them, okay?" Her bottom lip quivered as she added, "They really need you."

Luke nodded understandingly, shooting a quick glance over at Lorelai who was standing on the driver's side of the Jeep. "I will, don't worry." He hugged Rory. "I'm proud of you. This whole town is proud of you, don't forget that."

"I won't, thank you." Rory smiled appreciatively and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, Luke." She climbed into the Jeep and pulled the door shut.

Luke walked over to Lorelai, who was leaning against the driver's side door of the Jeep. "You okay?" he asked, but the answer was obvious. She looked like she was about to cry.

Lorelai nodded, then shook her head with a shrug. "I don't know." She covered her face with her hands and muttered to herself, "Hold it together, Lorelai."

Luke pulled her into a hug. "I know it's hard. It'll be okay. You'll both be okay."

Lorelai stayed in his embrace for a few seconds before pulling back with a disheartened sigh. "We should get on the road. I'll come back after the airport…it'll probably be a couple hours."

Luke nodded. "Okay." He watched her climb into the Jeep and shut the door, then he walked over to the sidewalk and waited for them to pull away. As they did, he raised his hand to give a final wave goodbye, then headed back into the empty diner.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Luke was anxious all morning as he waited for Lorelai to return to the diner. Every time the bell on the door jingled, he jerked his head toward it to see if it was her. He briefly contemplated removing the stupid bell to try to reduce the whiplash he was getting.

When Lorelai finally arrived, Luke immediately noticed her red eyes and tearstained cheeks. He moved quickly around the counter to greet her. "Hey."

Lorelai didn't respond, just wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face to his flannel. Her body shook in his arms as she cried against him.

Luke rubbed her back gently, knowing full well there wasn't much he could say or do to fix the situation… he just needed to help her get through it. "It's okay," he comforted her. "She'll be okay."

"That was so hard," Lorelai muttered against his shirt.

"I know. Come upstairs for a few minutes." Luke put an arm around her shoulder and led her past the curious onlookers in the diner toward the back staircase. "Caesar, I'll be right back," he called toward the kitchen.

Luke led her up to his apartment and sat down with her on the couch. He grabbed the tissue box from the end table and set it on the coffee table in front of her. As she stared down at the floor crying, Luke silently rubbed her back until she was ready to talk.

Finally, she shook her head sadly and met his gaze. "I couldn't hold it together. I thought I would be okay. I wanted to be strong until she was out of my sight, and then I could break down." She sniffled and paused to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand. "I didn't want her to see me like that. I didn't want that to be something she was thinking about on the plane, worrying about me being okay. I just wanted her to be able to focus on the job and not on me." Lorelai groaned and clenched her fists in frustration. "Just five more minutes and I would've been in the clear. I screwed up."

"You did _not_ screw anything up," Luke said firmly. "Whether she saw you upset or not, she was gonna worry. She knows this is hard for you. It's hard for her, too. This is a big change for both of you."

"I can't believe she's gone," Lorelai muttered sadly. "I miss her already."

"She misses you, too," Luke said. "But she's not gone…she's just away. It's an adjustment. You'll both be okay, but it doesn't happen instantly. Some things need time to be okay."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, mentally applying that statement to their own relationship. She grabbed a couple of tissues, wiped her eyes and nose, then tossed them in the trashcan next to the coffee table. "I thought about us last night," she said. "Me and you, I mean." She shook her head slightly. "Still kind of taking that all in, you know... that there's a _me and you_ again."

"Me, too," he replied. "You, uh...still in?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'm in. But like I said, there's stuff we need to talk about and work through before we can try to be an _us_ again," she said softly.

"I know," he replied as he took her hand and squeezed it. "I was thinking about it... and I had an idea."

Surprised, Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "Oh... an idea. Okay. Ideas are...nice. What's the idea?" She didn't know why she suddenly felt nervous.

Luke had thought about their situation a lot in the past twelve hours, and as happy as he was to finally reconcile, he had one major concern… the timing of it. Trying to piece back together their relationship during a time when Lorelai was so sensitive and vulnerable made him nervous. He knew they needed to ease back into things.

Luke took a deep breath. "I think we need some sort of a… I don't even know what to call it… like, a transition period or something."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with curiosity. "Go on," she prompted him to explain.

"We both know we can't move forward with _us_ as a couple until we talk... I mean, _really_ _talk_."

"Right," she agreed. "Really, _really_ talk."

"Yeah, but I don't wanna do that while you're still dealing with the brunt of all this emotional Rory stuff," Luke continued. "I mean, to expect you to drop her off at the _airport_ and then come here and jump right into talking about _us_?" Luke shook his head. "No way, that's too much."

"So, what are you saying?" Lorelai was still confused by what he was suggesting. "You wanna wait to talk? You wanna wait for… _us_?"

Luke nodded. "We should wait. I think you need to get through this stuff with Rory first. Take a few days, a week, whatever… let the shock of that wear off. Adjust to her being away."

Lorelai eyed him for a few seconds, still not clear about the logistics of this 'transition period.' "Adjust… alone?" she asked hesitantly. "Like, we're gonna stay away from each other?"

"No, of course not," he scoffed. "You really think I'd just ignore you while you're dealing with that?" He shook his head in disbelief, as if he was offended that she'd even think that.

Lorelai smiled at his reaction, pleased to see that staying away from her was not an option. She held up her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, sorry, I wasn't sure what you meant."

"I'll be right here," he said firmly. "But I think we need to take it slow, hold off on talking about _us_, just keep things casual. And then when you're ready… we'll talk things out and start working on us."

Lorelai nodded understandingly as she gained a clearer picture of his suggestion, and she was starting to feel relieved by it. "Gotcha. So I'm Elaine and you're Jerry, and we're gonna be hanging out as friends at the coffee shop for a few days until we get through one semi-dramatic obstacle and then we can tackle the next one."

Luke was happy that he recognized that television reference, as it wasn't always the case. "Yes, exactly. What do you think?"

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "I like it, if you're sure you're okay with it."

"A hundred percent," Luke replied without hesitation. "It's too much to deal with all at once, Lorelai. One thing at a time. When you're ready to talk… you let me know. Your call."

"Okay, thank you." Lorelai leaned over to hug him. She felt like a weight had been lifted. With everything on her mind, she liked knowing that she had a little leeway before jumping into any heavy emotional discussions with Luke.

As Luke pulled back from her, he lightly bumped her knee with his fist. "So, what are you doing the rest of the day?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I didn't have anything planned. I took the day off but I might head over to the inn anyway… may be a good distraction."

Luke glanced at his watch, then thought for a moment. "Look, it's almost lunch time… let me help Caesar get ready for the lunch rush, and then we'll go out and do something."

"You're gonna be my own personal distraction today?"

"Yup," he confirmed. "If you want."

Lorelai smiled. "I want."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two hours later, Luke and Lorelai were walking through the mall, which surprisingly was _his_ suggestion as their first stop, despite his antipathy toward shopping. Luke was carrying her shopping bags while she snacked on a soft pretzel.

"Ooh, ooh, there's another one," Lorelai whispered excitedly. "Eleven o'clock on the bench. Turn slowly… girlfriend or daughter?"

Luke subtly glanced toward his left until he spotted the couple that Lorelai was referring to… an older gentleman sitting with a much younger woman.

Luke turned back to Lorelai. "Girlfriend. You don't wear a skirt that short to go out with your _dad_." He paused a second, furrowed his brow and asked, "_Do_ girls wear skirts that short to go out with their dads?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Not me personally, but only because Richard Gilmore is more of a chest man."

Luke grimaced. "Ugh. Not a sentence I ever needed to hear."

Lorelai giggled as she broke off a piece of pretzel and offered it to Luke; he accepted and popped it into his mouth. She finished up the last bite, threw the wrapper in a nearby garbage can, then brushed the crumbs from her hands.

"So, where to next?" Luke asked. Lorelai smiled and nodded toward the store behind him. Luke turned around and groaned when he saw the sign. "Oh, boy."

"You are about to witness retail therapy at its finest," Lorelai declared as she grabbed him by the arm and led him into Sephora.

He'd been in that store with her before, and had silently vowed to avoid that again at all costs. But today was _her_ day, and he'd stay in there for as long as she needed. Hell, he'd probably let her test the makeup on him if she really wanted to. Anything to keep her happily distracted.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Forty-five minutes later, they walked out of Sephora and started heading in the direction of the food court for a late lunch.

"I think I did pretty well restraining myself," Lorelai commented.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, two hundred bucks, that's what you call - " He suddenly stopped himself from the snarky comment he was about to make. He'd been trying to keep the teasing to a minimum today.

"That's what I call…" Lorelai prompted him.

"Nothin'," Luke quickly replied, waving her off. "You did good."

Lorelai had noticed he was taking it easy on her today, staying quiet during some prime mocking opportunities. It was an unnecessary gesture that she found adorably charming. She smiled and nudged his side with her elbow. "Luke…"

"Yeah?" Luke responded nonchalantly.

"Don't hold back your grumpiness on my account," Lorelai requested. "You gotta be yourself… I want Teasing-Luke, not Best-Behavior-Luke."

Luke shrugged. "I'm just trying to… you know…because today's…and you're…"

Lorelai smiled as she rubbed his arm. "I know what you're doing, and thank you. It's sweet."

"You're welcome."

"But I want you to mock me," Lorelai urged, then added in a singsong voice, "You know you want to…all the cool kids are doin' it. Please?"

Luke smirked and gave in to her request. "You call that restraining yourself? You realize you spent more on face products _today_ than I've probably spent on face products in the past 15 years?"

"That's because one can of shaving cream lasts you a whole year," Lorelai pointed out as she ran a hand over the scruff on his cheek.

"And why do you need all that stuff anyway?" Luke continued. "Your face is fine… it's a waste of money to buy all that crap."

"My face is fine _because_ I buy all that crap to keep it looking young and refreshed."

Luke shook his head. "But why spend fifty bucks on a two-ounce jar of cream that keeps wrinkles away?"

"Um, to _keep the wrinkles away_?" Lorelai suggested pointedly. "You answered your own question."

"I mean, I'm sure you can find another wrinkle product at a much better price that does just as good a job as the expensive brand," he ranted. "It's probably all the same ingredients as the cheap stuff, you're just paying for the name. It's a rip off!"

"But what if it's not all the same ingredients? Are you willing to take the risk of exposing a potentially ineffective low-quality product to my pretty, pretty face?" Lorelai batted her eyelashes at him as she framed her face with her hands. "Hm?"

It was at that moment that the face cream battle ended, because the only thing going through Luke's mind was how much he'd missed this. Missed seeing her. Missed spending time with her. Missed their playful banter, which thankfully had come back to them so easily.

As Lorelai stared at him, hands still posed around her face, the corners of Luke's lips slowly turned up into a smile. He shook his head slightly. "Forget it."

"Ha!" Lorelai pointed her finger at him as she smirked proudly. "Gilmore wears down Danes yet again."

"Yeah, yeah." Luke waved her off with a snicker. They had arrived at the food court, and Luke gestured to the line of food counters behind the sea of tables. "What do you feel like?"

"Tacos," Lorelai responded, rubbing her hands together excitedly. "Ooh, and pizza. And a milkshake."

"Ugh, how do you not get sick every day of your life?" he muttered as he started surveying the food options. He pointed to the far end of the food court. "Okay, you get the tacos down there, then swing two stops over for the milkshake. I'll get the pizza. Plain?"

"Pepperoni," Lorelai replied. "Meet you at the tables."

They went in separate directions to get the food, and fifteen minutes later they were seated at a table with their trays. He glanced down at the unexpected cup of French fries in front of her. "Impulse buy?"

Lorelai smiled as she picked up a fry and bit it. "Couldn't resist."

Luke had gotten himself a salad and a slice of vegetable pizza. As he stabbed at his lettuce with a plastic fork, he asked, "So, how you holding up? You good?"

"Mmhmm," Lorelai replied. "Better than expected, thanks to Captain Distraction." She reached over and picked out a crouton from his salad.

Luke tilted his head to the side with an amused look. "Really? You don't have enough of your own?" he asked, gesturing to the spread of food in front of her.

Lorelai just smiled as she popped the crouton in her mouth and started crunching. She took a sip of her milkshake, then said, "Thank you for doing this. For dropping everything to spend the day making sure I don't try to jump on a plane to Iowa."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "No big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal, Luke," Lorelai insisted as she reached across the table to rub his forearm. "And it means a lot... really. So thank you."

Luke put his hand on top of hers. "You're welcome."

"I know I said this already," Lorelai said softly. "But I really missed you."

"I missed you, too." Luke locked his gaze with hers as he squeezed her hand. "I thought about you every day, Lorelai."

Lorelai felt her heart begin to race, not just from the sincerity of his words, but by the affectionate way he was staring at her with those expressive eyes. The casual food court lunch was turning into a more tender moment than she was expecting.

Lorelai glanced down at her food for a second, then brought her gaze back to him. "Every day?"

"Every day," he repeated. "Sometimes I tried not to, but that didn't really work because then I was thinking about how I was trying _not_ to think about you." He shook his head slightly. "It's not easy trying not to think about someone so important to you."

"Yeah, tell me about it," she muttered softly. "It's pretty impossible."

From her response, Luke got the impression that he'd been on her mind just as much as she'd been on his. He ate a forkful of his salad, then said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmhmm."

He leaned back in his chair. "The other night, at the bar…" he started.

Lorelai felt her face turn red. "Oh, God." She covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. You probably thought that was crazy."

"No, I didn't," Luke quickly replied. "But everybody was yammering on about how it was maybe a serenade and debating whether it meant something, and at one point I kinda thought maybe it _did_, but then… then I thought maybe it _didn't_."

Luke paused, thinking back to that moment in the diner when he had overheard Lorelai tell Patty that the song didn't mean anything. He remembered how disappointed he was to have that small amount of hope for a reconciliation be ripped out from under him.

Lorelai eyed him curiously as he stared off into space, and then finally snapped her fingers in front of him. "Earth to Luke."

Luke broke out of his daze. "Oh, sorry." He thought for a second, trying to remember where he left off. "I don't know, I was just… wondering if it meant anything."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Well, it honestly didn't _start_ _out_ as a serenade, I was just singing to Rory. But then when I saw you in the crowd…" Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly. "I don't know, all these feelings just hit me, and the words kinda took on a whole new meaning. I couldn't stop staring at you…if you didn't notice."

Luke smirked. "I noticed."

Lorelai glanced shyly down at her tray of food. She took another deep breath as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. "But to answer your question…yes. It _did_ mean something. It _was_ a serenade."

Luke's eyes widened slightly as he smiled. "Wow…okay. Uh, so, I guess…thank you? I don't know what the correct response is to a public serenade."

"Cash," Lorelai replied. "Lots of cash."

Luke let out a laugh. "We'll hit the ATM on the way out."

Lorelai used her straw to stir her milkshake as she said, "You know, we're not doing too well with the whole _'not talking about us' _thing."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my fault, sorry. New topic."

Lorelai suddenly heard her cell phone ringing and she quickly fumbled for it in her purse. She pulled out the phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi Mom," Rory greeted her.

Lorelai gasped with excitement. "Hi sweets!" She shared a smile across the table with Luke. "Did you arrive safe and sound?"

"Yeah, I just got to Sioux City," Rory replied. "How are you? Are you okay?"

Lorelai could hear the concern in Rory's voice. "Yes, don't worry, I'm good," Lorelai assured her. "How was the flight?"

"It was good. I read my book, listened to my headphones, and tried to avoid letting the head of the sleeping lady next to me hit my shoulder."

"Well, you've always been good at multitasking," Lorelai replied. "No turbulence or anything?"

"Nope, it was fine," Rory replied. "What are you up to? Did you go to the inn?"

"No, actually, Luke and I are at the mall," Lorelai replied, glancing over at Luke who was eating his salad. "He's keeping me busy and distracted."

"Aw, good," Rory replied. "Can he hear you right now?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Why?"

"Well, I wanted you to fill me in on that situation, but you can do that when I call tonight," Rory replied. She paused and added, "Unless, of course, he'll be with you _tonight_, too."

"No, it's... we're not... no..." Lorelai stammered. "Um, I'll fill you in later."

"Okay. I gotta get to the taxi stand and head to the hotel. I'll call you tonight and let you know how things go, okay?"

"Okay, good luck," Lorelai replied. "I love you, kid."

"Love you, too, Mom," Rory replied. "Say hi to Luke for me."

"Will do," Lorelai replied. "Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai ended the call, then frowned at the phone's display. "Battery's almost dead." As she dropped the phone back into her purse, she said to Luke, "Rory says hi."

"How is she?" he asked.

"She sounds good," Lorelai replied with a relieved smile. "She's in Iowa, just landed, flight was good, and she's about to head to the hotel."

"And how are _you_?" Luke asked. "Does hearing from her you feel better? Or does it make it harder?"

Lorelai shrugged. "A little of both, I guess. I mean, I like hearing her tell me that she's doing okay, but when I hear her voice, it's... " Her voice trailed off and she gestured toward him. "Well, _you_ know how it feels…you probably go through it with April."

"Yup," he replied. "It sucks, but you get through it. _We'll_ get through it."

Lorelai nodded as she picked up a French fry and took a bite. "So, you got any other plans for us today?"

"Yeah, I've got some thoughts," Luke replied. "How adventurous are you feeling?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Hmm, like 'bungee jumping' adventurous, or 'entering a deep fried Twinkie eating contest' adventurous?"

"Uh, more like, 'doing a lot of walking' adventurous," Luke replied. "I don't know how tired you are from having to get up so early."

"I'm good," Lorelai assured him. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could take a drive over to Gillette Castle State Park," Luke suggested. "You know, walk the grounds, tour the estate, check out the views of the river...if you're up for it."

Lorelai gasped excitedly. "I'm so up for it!"

Luke smiled. "Okay, good. You been there before?"

"Mia and I took Rory there once when she was in elementary school," Lorelai replied. "We loved it. I remember it was so beautiful, the scenery around the castle. Like right out of a fairy tale."

Luke was glad she seemed excited about it. "Are there any more stores you wanna hit here?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I think I've done enough damage to my credit card for one day."

"Okay. So, we can head over there when we're done eating."

Lorelai smiled. "Perfect."  
>. . . . .<p>

. . . . .

That evening, after they had visited the castle grounds and stopped back at the diner for dinner, Luke drove Lorelai back to her house and walked her inside.

Lorelai greeted Paul Anka, who was cuddled up on the armchair. "Were you good for Auntie Babette today?" she muttered as she rubbed the dog's head. Lorelai glanced at the coffee table, cluttered with a couple of items that hadn't made it into Rory's suitcase that morning.

Luke lined up her shopping bags at the bottom of the staircase. "All right, I gotta get back to the diner," he said. "I'm gonna send Caesar home early since he pulled double-duty for me today..." Luke paused when he noticed Lorelai staring at the coffee table. "What's that?"

Lorelai blinked herself out her daze and walked over to him. She sighed softly before replying, "It's, um... just a couple things Rory decided not to take with her at the last minute." She folded her arms across her chest and glanced back at the coffee table. "I told her I'd put them away for her."

Her quieter, more subdued disposition was instantly noticeable to Luke. Understandably, no amount of distractions outside of the house could prevent the emotions from hitting her once she got back home.

Luke gently pushed a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice softened with concern.

Lorelai nodded. "I'm fine."

Luke shook his head, thoroughly unconvinced. "Try again, Lorelai."

Lorelai sighed as she shrugged weakly. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sad? Okay, yes, of course I'm sad," she said softly. "But I'm _allowed_ to be a little sad. It's the first night here without her... I didn't expect it to be easy."

"You want me to stay longer?" he asked her.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, it's okay, I'll be fine, I promise," she assured him. "I just need to adjust. Rory's gonna call later, so I'm looking forward to hearing how her day went." She took his hand and led him to the front door. "Thank you for wasting your entire day on me."

"It was far from a waste," he corrected her. "And you're welcome." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Call me if you need me, okay? I mean it."

"I will," she replied as she pulled back from the hug. She rested her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. "So, what does the 'keeping it casual and friendly' handbook say about kissing…yay or nay?"

Luke smirked and rested his hands on her waist. "I haven't gotten to that chapter yet."

"There were a few times today I really wanted to," Lorelai admitted. "But I wasn't sure if it was allowed, so I restrained myself."

"Me, too," he replied.

Lorelai lightly traced his soft lips with her fingertip. "I think an occasional kiss between friends is okay. I mean, we can still take it slow without taking it Amish…right?"

"Right."

"Well, as long as we both agree..." Lorelai leaned forward and pressed her lips to his for a soft kiss, then pulled back with a content smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Luke pulled the front door open and headed out of the house. Lorelai stood in the doorframe and watched him until his truck was out of sight.

Lorelai shut the front door, locked it, and then headed toward the kitchen, stopping at the doorway to Rory's bedroom. She stared sadly into the darkened room, just like she'd done the night before as she'd watched Rory sleep.

Her eyes wandered from the posters on the walls to the stacks of books on the desk to the cardboard boxes on the floor. The room was still filled with a lot of _stuff_, but right now… it seemed completely empty.

Lorelai stepped into the room and slowly walked over to the dresser near the closet, surveying some of the items her daughter had left behind. She tapped her finger against the side of the tall model rocket. Ran her hand across the soft Yale pennant hanging on the mirror. Squeezed the tiny white teddy bear sitting on the edge of the dresser.

There were a few old pictures of her and Rory propped up against the bottom of the mirror. A rush of emotions washed over her as she ran a finger across Rory's face in one of the pictures. Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as tears began to well in her eyes.

Lorelai blinked, forcing the tears down her cheeks. "A little wallowing is okay," she muttered to her reflection in the mirror. "It's good for you. It's part of the adjustment process." She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, letting her tears fall freely as she stared down at the floor.

A few minutes later, she was startled when the ringing of the phone echoed through the quiet house. Lorelai gasped. "Rory!" She rushed out of the room and down the hall to the living room, grabbing the portable phone from the desk. "Hello?" she answered breathlessly.

"Look, I know you said you're okay," Luke's voice greeted her. "But I got back to the diner, and I was thinking about you being there all alone and upset, and I think maybe I shouldn't have left you… I should've stayed."

Lorelai smiled to herself, genuinely touched by how concerned he was. "Luke."

"I can come back," Luke insisted. "It's not a problem."

"Luke, it's okay, really," Lorelai replied. "Yes, I'm sad, and yes, I'm probably gonna go eat my feelings while I wait for Rory to call, but… it's part of the process. It's something I need to do, you know? Indulge the sadness. It's a girl thing."

Luke was quiet for a second, then sighed softly. "All right…if you're sure."

"I'm sure. But thank you for the offer," she said sincerely. "And for everything you did today to make it easier for me… thank you. Really."

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, you will," she confirmed. "Goodnight."

"'Night."

. . . . .

.

To be continued…

.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Past in the Present - Chapter 2 **

. . . . .

The next morning, Lorelai walked into the diner and sat down at a table. She caught a glimpse of Luke moving around back in the kitchen area, and she smiled to herself. Seeing him gave her those tingly butterfly feels in her stomach, and she loved it. She kept her eyes focused on the kitchen doorway until he walked out.

When he finally did, she caught his gaze and they shared a smile. He quickly delivered the plates of food he was carrying to customers at the counter, then grabbed the coffeepot and an empty mug before heading over to her table. "Hey."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "Morning."

"How're you doing?" Luke's voice was soft and his eyes were filled with concern. "You were okay last night?"

"Oh, yeah, I was fine," Lorelai replied nonchalantly.

"Really?" Luke eyed her skeptically as he poured coffee into her mug. "_Fine_? Come on, Lorelai."

Lorelai knew he would see right through that answer. "Well, fine-ish," she admitted. "Which is similar to _fine,_ but includes large quantities of cookies and multiple teary breakdowns."

Luke frowned as he comfortingly rubbed her shoulder. "I knew it, I should've came back."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively but shook her head. "No, Luke, I told you, it's part of the process. You don't hide from the sadness, you just need to let it take control for a little while so you can try to move past it."

Luke hated the thought of her sitting at home alone letting her sadness take over, but knew he needed to let her go through her _process_. He just sighed and reluctantly shrugged in defeat. "I guess you know the best way you need to handle it."

Lorelai nodded. "I do, don't worry."

"So, did you get to talk to her?"

"Yeah, she called last night," Lorelai replied. "She told me about her day, and all about the town hall meeting she went to. She said it was interesting... you know, watching the senator speak and sitting with the reporters and everything. But she was nervous… it's all new to her, she doesn't really have her bearings yet. Rory likes to know what to expect, she likes her routine." Lorelai sighed softly. "It's just very… different for her."

"Give her time, she'll figure it out," Luke said. "She's gonna be great, no doubt in my mind."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, but he could see the worry on her face. "Yeah, I know, I just hope it doesn't take too long for her to feel comfortable," she said.

"Don't worry, she's smart, she's a fast learner, she'll catch on quick," Luke assured her. "And getting to interact with all those reporters is gonna be a great opportunity for her. This is a good thing."

"Yeah, I know, you're right, it's good," Lorelai quickly agreed with a nod. "It's really good. I'm just nervous for her."

"I know." Luke offered a sympathetic smile and gently squeezed her shoulder. "You want breakfast?"

"Yes, please," she replied. "Blueberry pancakes with bacon."

"You got it."

Luke walked away from the table and headed toward the kitchen to put her order in. Lorelai pulled her date book out of her purse and started flipping through it, trying to busy herself while she waited for her food. A few minutes passed before Luke set her breakfast plate in front of her.

"Thank you." Lorelai closed her date book and put it back in her purse.

Luke lingered by her table for a moment. "So…you need anything else?"

"Hmm…" Lorelai surveyed the table. "Let's see, I have silverware, coffee, butter, syrup … pancakes that look especially fluffy today." She picked up a piece of bacon and examined it. "Bacon is to my preferred level of crispiness." She glanced at the empty seat next to her, then brought her gaze back to Luke. "Only thing missing is an eating companion. Can I get one of those?"

"Sorry, someone just ordered the last one," Luke replied dryly. She playfully pouted at him and he headed back toward the counter.

As Lorelai began eating, Miss Patty entered the diner and stopped at her table to say hello. After Lorelai updated her on Rory and then politely evaded the questions about her relationship status with Luke, Miss Patty headed to the counter, and Lorelai continued with her breakfast.

A few minutes later, she was startled when the chair next to her was pulled out from the table. She glanced up as Luke was sitting down with a bowl of food and a glass of orange juice. "What are you - " Lorelai started.

"You wanted an eating companion," Luke interrupted. "I'm eating, I'm a companion, there ya go."

Lorelai's face broke into a wide smile. "Thank you." Then she glanced down at his dull-looking bowl of oatmeal and frowned. "That's the most appetizing thing you could make yourself for breakfast? You have an entire diner of food to choose from."

Luke sighed. "I didn't realize there were food requirements for your eating companion."

"Of course there is. You wouldn't want your eating companion to be so grossed out by your food that she loses her appetite, would you?"

Luke snickered. "Not very likely when you're eating with a Gilmore."

Lorelai smirked and poked him on the arm with the bottom end of her fork. "Ha ha," she said sarcastically.

Luke ate a spoonful of oatmeal, then gave a quick glance around the diner to make sure the customers were being adequately attended to by his staff. He'd told them he'd be occupied for a few minutes.

Satisfied that everyone was taken care of, he brought his gaze back to Lorelai. "So…were you able to get some sleep last night?"

Lorelai gasped and dropped her fork on her plate. "Why? Do I _look_ tired?" She picked up her spoon and tried to look at her reflection. "Is it my eyes? Are they puffy?"

Luke was amused by her frantic reaction, and he let out a small laugh. "Lorelai, calm down… you don't _look_ tired, I was just asking. You look fine… really."

He was trying to be nonchalant…complimentary and supportive without being flirty… but she looked so much better than _fine_. Her hair was in that style he didn't know what to call…was it wavy? Was it curly? A little of both? He was never quite sure, but he loved the way the ringlets framed her flawless face. No one would guess that she was running on minimal sleep or that she'd spent much of the night in tears. She was beautiful, and he wished he could tell her just how perfect she looked. But, for now… _fine_ would have to do.

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and put the spoon down. "Oh, thank God."

"I just know it's hard to sleep when you have a lot on your mind, so... I was just wondering."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't the best night's sleep…I kept tossing and turning." She took a sip of her coffee, then continued, "There's a different feel in the house now, you know? It's different than the 'Rory's away at college' feeling. Now there's this strange void from not knowing when she'll be back. I don't like it." She sighed and shrugged. "But it is what it is. I don't have to _like_ it… I just have to get used to it."

"You'll get used to it, and then it won't seem like such a strange void anymore," he assured her.

She nodded in agreement, but Luke could see the doubt in her eyes, the sadness on her face. He watched her as she glanced down at her plate and wistfully poked at her food with her fork.

He glanced out the window into the town square, and his gaze landed on the sign displayed outside of Miss Patty's studio about the town meeting that night. He turned back to Lorelai. "You going to the town meeting later?"

Lorelai had just popped a heaping forkful of pancake into her mouth. She nodded as she swallowed it down, and then responded, "Yeah, probably. Why?"

"I thought maybe we could walk over together."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "You're going?"

"Got nothing better to do," Luke replied with a shrug. "Might as well keep tabs on what crazy summer activities Taylor's cooking up. You know, mentally prepare."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay... I'll stop here first and we can head over."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai arrived at the Dragonfly and walked over to the front desk. She smiled politely at the guests who were checking out with Michel, placed her purse under the desk, and then started going through the mail pile.

When Michel had finished up with the guests, he peeled a Post-It note from the computer monitor and handed it to Lorelai. "Sookie left this for you."

"And good morning to you, too, Michel," Lorelai replied cheerfully.

"Mmhmm," he responded as he began typing on the computer keyboard.

"Yes, Rory made it to her destination safely, thanks for asking," Lorelai continued the one-sided conversation. "Why, yes, it _was_ kind of upsetting for me, but I'm doing okay. Again, thanks for the concern."

"You are welcome," he muttered dryly, not looking away from the computer screen.

Lorelai glanced down at the note and smiled as she read it. '_Get your butt in the kitchen now!'_ was scribbled in Sookie's handwriting. "I'll be right back," she said to Michel. "Then you can fill me in on what I missed yesterday."

Lorelai headed to the kitchen, which was a bustle of activity as the staff prepared breakfast. When Sookie saw her walk in, she gasped loudly. "Lorelai! You're here!"

"Yes, my butt is now in the kitchen, as requested," Lorelai declared. "Hope you don't mind, the rest of my body parts tagged along, too. They have this weird thing about not letting my butt wander off on its own."

Sookie rushed over to Lorelai and hugged her. "How are you? I called the house yesterday to see how you were holding up. Did you get my message?"

"Yes, I got it last night, thank you for checking in on me," Lorelai said with an appreciative smile.

"How's Rory?" Sookie asked. "Did she make to Idaho okay?"

"Iowa, and yes, she made it safely," Lorelai confirmed. "I talked to her twice yesterday, she's doing okay... she's still learning the ropes."

"And how are you?" Sookie's tone softened as she rubbed Lorelai's arm. "You doing okay?"

Lorelai shrugged and ate a blueberry from the bowl on the counter. "Um, as expected, I guess. It's definitely not easy, you know?"

Sookie gave a sympathetic frown as she nodded understandingly. "I know, honey. What did you do yesterday?"

"I was with Luke all day," she replied. "It was a spur of the moment thing."

Sookie's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. "With Luke… all day," she repeated slowly. "All day with Luke?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, Sookie, I spent all day with Luke. He offered to help distract me, and I took him up on it."

Sookie giggled. "_Distract _you, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?"

Lorelai smirked as she shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter... we were out in public the whole time."

Sookie frowned her disappointment at their lack of dirtiness, then rubbed her hands together and said, "Okay, so, fill me in... what's going on there?"

Lorelai sighed. "It's a little complicated. But I think... I'm dating Luke again…maybe? Kind of?"

Sookie threw her hands up in confusion. "You think, maybe, kind of? What does that mean, Lorelai?"

"Well, we're not technically dating _yet_," Lorelai explained. "But it looks like we will be at some point, probably. Hopefully, if things go okay. But not now. Maybe next week. We'll see."

"Oh, boy," Sookie muttered as she rubbed her temple with both hands. "I think I'm gonna have to sit down for this. Come with me." Sookie took Lorelai by the hand and led her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the empty library.

As they sat down on the couch, Sookie said, "Okay, you guys kissed at the party, and now you're maybe, potentially dating, possibly starting next week... there are a ton of blanks you need to fill in."

"Okay, here goes..." Lorelai took a deep breath. "We kissed at the party, and then we both agreed that we wanted to get back together…"

Sookie gasped excitedly. "Good!"

"But then we decided that we shouldn't get _back together_ until we talk about the things that made us _not-together_ in the first place." Lorelai paused and asked, "With me so far?"

Sookie was quiet for a few seconds as she absorbed Lorelai's sentence, and then nodded understandingly. "Yes, got it…talk first, then back together. Keep going."

"_Then_ we decided that maybe _now's_ not the best time to get into that stuff because of the whole emotional Rory-leaving situation," Lorelai continued her explanation. "So we're gonna deal with that first. We're just gonna hang out as friends for now, and then we'll talk out all that heavy stuff and try to rekindle a relationship."

Sookie nodded. "Got it. So, just friends for now until you can talk about all that other _stuff._" She paused, then raised an eyebrow suggestively as she asked, "But…do you mean just friends, or friends _with benefits_?"

"No no, no way, no benefits, just friends," Lorelai said adamantly as she shook her head. "We can't complicate things with benefits. I can't just jump back into bed with him after all we've been through. We have serious stuff to talk about." Lorelai groaned softly and muttered, "Ugh, that's gonna be intense."

Sookie frowned sympathetically and patted her on the knee. "I know. At least you have a little time before you have to deal with it. You have a chance to rebuild your friendship before going to that next level."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, exactly. And it's nice having that friendship again and spending time with him. It's been great… he's been so sweet."

Sookie smiled. "You guys really missed each other."

"Yeah." A smiled slowly formed on Lorelai's lips as she thought back to the day before. "There were a few times yesterday when he was looking at me with this adoring look on his face that was just so…" She shook her head shyly. "I don't know…almost like he was just completely enamored by me."

"Yeah, he was doing that at the party, too," Sookie said with a smile. "I swear, it was like he had the chorus of _Every Little Thing She Does is Magic_ playing in a loop in his head every time he looked at you."

Lorelai giggled. "Stop! Now I'm gonna think that when I look at him."

"So, what exactly did you guys do yesterday?" Sookie asked.

"We went shopping at the mall for a few hours, and then he took me to that park with the cool old castle," Lorelai replied. "Remember Mia and I took Rory there years ago?"

Sookie nodded. "Right, I remember that." She paused a second, then asked, "Shopping for a few hours? Doesn't he hate shopping?"

"Yes, he does, and he _really_ hates malls," Lorelai confirmed. "But…you know Luke."

"He likes to make his favorite lady happy," Sookie said knowingly with a smile.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah…he does." Her gaze slowly drifted to the coffee table in front of her as the gears in her mind started to turn.

Lorelai was not oblivious to the fact that Luke would do just about anything to make her happy. He had always been that way over the years, and in the past two days he'd proven that he was _still_ that guy, even after all they'd been through. He organized the going-away party. He spent the day trying to distract her from her sadness. He took time during the busy morning rush to eat breakfast with her. He was probably even going to the town meeting that night just for her benefit, too. This man was always sacrificing for her…but this wasn't a new concept by any means.

She thought back to when this topic had come up in the past. She had voiced her concern to Luke about wanting him to keep up with his own interests just as much as he took part in hers. As the details of that discussion replayed in her mind, she began nibbling on her bottom lip as a wave of guilt washed over her.

Sookie had been quietly watching Lorelai daydream, and finally asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Lorelai broke out of her daze and shook her head disappointedly. "I handled it all wrong last time, Sookie… I didn't _think_. I suck. I suck more than the Brady Bunch writer who said, 'Hey, what about introducing a Cousin Oliver?' That's how much I suck!"

Sookie stared at her blankly with her mouth agape. "Okay, honey, I'm gonna need more information about _why_ you think you suck so I can either confirm or deny."

Lorelai sighed. "When we were engaged, Luke and I had a talk about how he always did things that _I_ liked, but that he wasn't really doing much of his own hobbies anymore. So I encouraged him to go out and do them more."

"Well, that was nice of you," Sookie said supportively. "Why do you suck for that?"

"Because!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I should've offered to do that stuff _with_ him, not say 'hey, go off by yourself and do your own thing.' I mean, he did _my_ things for me, why didn't I do _his_ things for him?"

"Um, because we like to give guys their space?" Sookie suggested. "They're _guys_… they don't mind going out and doing their own things. If couples did _everything_ together, they would kill each other."

Lorelai shook her head. "But I should've at least offered to do _some_ things with him. I should've shown an interest…I didn't even do _that_."

"Well, look, honey," Sookie started, calmly running her hand across Lorelai's arm. "The fact that you even wanted him to go out and do his own things shows that you _were_ showing an interest … you were thinking of him, you wanted him to be happy. That's a good start."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "I guess… but I just didn't go that extra step and put out the same effort that he did," she concluded, then she quickly corrected herself. "_Does, _I mean. Still does."

"Well, the good news is, if you think you did it wrong, you have an opportunity to fix it," Sookie pointed out. "Maybe you guys didn't do everything perfectly the first time around... "

"Clearly," Lorelai interjected.

"... but now you have another chance to do things differently," Sookie continued. "In the friendship, in the relationship, in every ship there is… you have a chance to improve, to make it better than it was before. Not everybody gets that second chance. You're lucky."

Lorelai was quiet for a few seconds as she let the words sink in, then she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Good point… thank you." She smiled and put her hand on Sookie's baby bump. "Is this pregnancy making you even wiser than you normally are?"

"God, I hope so," Sookie said with a giggle. "So, exactly how long are you two going to _not-date_?"

"It's up to me to let him know when I'm ready," Lorelai replied. "He wants to give me time to get settled with the Rory stuff before we jump into that whole other pool of drama." She glanced at her watch. "I have to get back to the front." Lorelai stood up, then helped Sookie up off the couch.

Sookie eyed Lorelai curiously. "So, you're really telling me that there will _definitely_ be no benefits at all during this non-dating stage? Completely innocent?"

Lorelai smiled and folded her arms across her chest. "We agreed that kissing is okay," she admitted.

"Ha!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist altogether!"

Lorelai giggled and put her arm around Sookie's shoulder. "Come on, back to work."  
>. . . . .<p>

. . . . .

That night, Lorelai was walking from her house toward the diner to meet Luke before the town meeting. As she was approaching the gazebo, her cell phone rang from her purse, and she quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi Mom," Rory greeted her. "It's me."

Lorelai gasped with excitement at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Hey! How was my girl's second day on the campaign trail?"

"Uh, it was a little hectic," Rory replied. "We had three events to cover, so there was a lot of rushing around. He's speaking at some sort of pancake breakfast tomorrow morning, and then we're bussing it a few hours away for some afternoon rally at a park."

"Well, I think we know the most important question here," Lorelai said. "Do _you_ get to have some pancakes?"

"I'm not sure," Rory replied with a laugh. "I still don't quite know what I'm doing, but I'm just following the other reporters around."

"And are you making friends with them?" Lorelai asked. "You're gonna need some comrades out there on the road."

"Yeah, I'm trying to," Rory replied. "Some of them are a little intimidating."

"Well, so are your grandparents, but they can't resist that Rory charm," Lorelai said. "No one can. So keep at 'em, you'll wear them all down."

"I will. A few of us are going for dinner tonight so I'm gonna try to get some scoop," Rory said. "You know, find out which ones I shouldn't even try to buddy up to, and which ones are approachable that I can maybe learn from."

"Good plan," Lorelai said. "So did we make the right call about the fanny pack?"

"Yes, definitely," Rory confirmed. "I still have not seen any lime green fanny packs, so I don't think I'll be singled out for not having one."

Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, whew, I was worried about that."

"So how about you?" Rory asked. "What's new?"

"Not a whole lot," Lorelai replied. "I'm on my way to Luke's now, we're gonna go to the town meeting together."

"Hm, sounds like a date," Rory teased. "You told me last night that you're not technically dating yet."

Lorelai gasped. "Really? Your mother is _that_ pathetic that you consider a town meeting a date?"

"Many a romantic evening has started in Miss Patty's…"

"Well, I think the leading topic of the meeting tonight is how to prevent summertime bug infestations in your home, so I'm pretty sure we can rule out any potential romance," Lorelai said.

Rory let out a small laugh. "Okay, I guess you're safe."

"Yup."

"Well, I should probably go get ready for dinner, we're going soon," Rory said. "I just wanted to call and say hi while I had some free time."

Lorelai frowned at having to hang up so quickly, but tried to hide her disappointment. "Okay. I'm glad you called."

There was a brief moment of silence before Lorelai heard Rory's soft-spoken voice say, "Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

Rory let out a soft sigh. "I really miss you…a lot."

Lorelai's breath hitched and her eyes started to tear. She didn't want Rory to hear the emotion in her voice, so she took a deep breath and replied with forced cheerfulness. "I miss you, too. Have fun at dinner."

"I will. I love you," Rory said.

"I love you, too, kid," Lorelai said. "Goodnight."

"Night, Mom."

Lorelai hung up, and her gaze lingered on the phone with sadness. She hated that Rory was so far away... she wanted to go to her and hug her. She wanted to help her through this learning process.

Lorelai started slowly heading toward the diner. From inside, Luke saw her walking through the square in his direction and called to Caesar that he was leaving. He walked outside and met her on the sidewalk.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile, which quickly disappeared when he noticed the sad look on her face. "You okay? What's wrong?"

Lorelai held up the phone in her hand. "I was just talking to Rory."

Concern immediately washed over Luke's face. "What happened? Is she okay?" he asked nervously.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, she's okay, she's fine… she's just busy and is still getting acclimated… and she said she misses me."

"Of course she does," Luke said. "That's expected."

"I know, I'm just…still adjusting," Lorelai replied. "It's hard to hear her say that, you know? I hate being in a situation where she has to miss me. I don't want her to _miss_ me, I just want her to be _with_ me." Lorelai covered her face with her hands. "I know that sounds so stupid."

"Hey," Luke said as he gently pulled her hands from her face. "It's not stupid."

Lorelai took a deep breath. "I miss her. I miss my little girl. And yes, I know she's twenty-two and she's an adult and she's out there in the real world where she's supposed to be, but she's _my little girl_."

Luke nodded understandingly. "It'll be okay. It's only day two. You have to give it some time for the separation to not feel this intense."

Lorelai sighed as she reluctantly nodded in agreement. "I know. It's just so different from when she was at Yale. Sure, we were apart, but I knew I could just jump in the car and go see her whenever I wanted to. I can't do that anymore, and I gotta tell you... I hate it."

"I know... her being so far away is tough," Luke replied. "You've spent her entire life with very little distance between you, and now it's completely different. So, yeah, it's gonna take time to get used to that."

"It just feels like I'm never gonna get used to it," Lorelai muttered sadly. "It feels like it's gonna be this hard forever."

"Come here," Luke said softly as he opened his arms to her. She stepped closer to him and he embraced her in a tight hug. She relaxed against his body and tried to let the comfort of his strong arms soothe her anxiety. "It'll be okay… she'll be fine, you'll be fine. I know it's tough right now because it's so new, but everything's gonna be good. Give it time, I promise you it'll get easier."

Lorelai felt herself calming down as she let his supportive words sink in. With her head still resting against his shoulder, she said softly, "You're really good at this comforting pep-talky stuff."

"Is it working?"

Lorelai pulled back and smiled up at him. "It's working," she confirmed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded affirmatively. "I'm okay. Emotional breakdown averted."

"Good." He gestured toward Miss Patty's studio. "So, you still wanna go to the meeting, or…"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. I could really use a good distracting bug talk right now."

"And if you're lucky, Kirk will be in some sort of insect costume," Luke added.

Lorelai gasped with excitement and waved her cell phone. "We so need to get a picture of that for Rory."

They headed to Miss Patty's, walked inside, and scanned the crowd for some empty seats. They walked halfway down the aisle and sat in the two chairs directly in front of Babette and Morey.

Babette immediately tapped Lorelai on the shoulder. "Hey doll," she rasped. "How's our girl doing on the road?"

Lorelai turned around with a smile. "So far so good."

"Good, good. Give her our love, will ya?" Babette glanced from Lorelai to Luke, and then back to Lorelai. "So... you guys on a date?"

"Oh, geez." Luke sighed and shifted in his seat. Several people in the crowd were looking their way, waiting for the answer.

"Uh, nope, no date...we just walked here together," Lorelai replied calmly. "Just completely innocent friends who enjoy walking next to each other."

"But you _are_ dating again, aren't you?" Babette asked.

"They're definitely more than friends," Gypsy declared loudly from across the aisle. "I saw them hugging in front of the diner just a few minutes ago." A loud murmur ran through the crowd.

"Friends are allowed to hug," Lorelai insisted. "I hug Sookie all the time!"

"It seemed awfully intimate," Gypsy continued. "Their bodies were pressed really close together."

"That's what a hug is!" Luke exclaimed. "That's the exact definition of a hug!"

"Some of my most scandalous nights have started with a hug," Miss Patty commented from the front of the room.

"We all saw the kiss at the party," Andrew added. "You kiss your _friends_ like that, too?"

"If so, I'll be your friend," a man called from the back, and there was some laughter in the crowd.

Luke instantly jerked his head toward the back of the studio. "Who said that?" he growled angrily.

Lorelai put her hand on his arm and whispered, "It's okay, calm down. Ignore them."

Taylor banged his gavel on the podium. "Okay, people, quiet down! We have a lot to cover tonight, so we're gonna have to move this matter to the next meeting."

Luke scoffed. "No, we won't! This isn't a matter to be discussed. This is nobody's business whether we're dating again or not."

"If they're not confirming that they're dating, there must be a reason," Mrs. Cassini mused aloud. "Maybe her divorce isn't final from that guy who ruined the knit-a-thon."

"Maybe Luke's got another kid," someone suggested from the back of the room.

"Oh, my God!" Luke shook his head in anger and started to stand up, but Lorelai grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down.

Lorelai stood up to address the crowd, loudly announcing, "Okay, the joke's over, we were kidding! Yes, we're dating again…this is a date." A murmur of approval went through the crowd.

Luke's eyes widened with surprise as he hissed, "What are you doing?"

Lorelai waved him off and continued, "So there's your answer - Luke and I are back together. Okay? Everyone happy? Good. This is the end of the discussion, we have no further comments at this time." She pointed to the front of the room. "Now, all eyes up front for the meeting. Take it away, Taylor."

The crowd erupted in chatter as Lorelai sat back down in her chair. Taylor banged his gavel a few times to quiet them down and he began talking about the meeting's agenda.

Luke was staring at her with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

Lorelai leaned close to his ear and whispered, "It's easier to just throw them a bone so they'll stop asking. We know we're still doing the transition thing, but they don't need to know that."

"But now they're just gonna ask different questions," he whispered back. "Feeding into their gossip only makes it worse, makes them wanna know more."

"Well, we'll deal with it, but hopefully this will keep them quiet for a little while." Lorelai smiled and patted his arm. "Plus, don't you want these guys to think I'm off the market? Or would you rather them all start trying to be my new make-out friend?"

Luke was expressionless for a moment, then muttered, "Good point."  
>. . . . .<p>

. . . . .

After the town meeting, Lorelai and Luke walked over to the diner. Since there were no customers, Luke sent Caesar home and then put up the "Closed" sign on the door. Lorelai sat down at a table, and Luke brought her a cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie.

As he sat down next to her, he said, "So, you're kind of ruining my reputation tonight."

Lorelai clutched her hand to her chest. "Me? What did I do?"

"Well, _I_ know this isn't a date, and _you_ know this isn't a date, but anyone who walks by and sees us in here is gonna think my idea of a date is taking you to a town meeting about bugs and then serving you leftover pie."

Lorelai giggled. "Aw, well, I'm very sorry for ruining your street cred," she said. "I'll be sure to let everyone know that I very much enjoyed the quaint little 'town meeting and leftover pie' date you took me on tonight."

"Uh, this is _not_ a date," he reminded her.

"I know that, but they think it is," she said as she gestured out toward the town square.

"Just making sure that _you_ remember."

"Hmm, let's see..." Lorelai tapped her finger on her chin as she pretended to ponder. "You gonna walk me home?"

"Was planning on it," he replied.

She smiled as she leaned toward him. "And… you gonna kiss me goodnight?"

Luke smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "Probably."

Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly and teased in a singsong voice, "I don't know… if it walks like a date and quacks like a date…"

Luke rolled his eyes. "This is _not_ a date," he said firmly. "We're not dating."

Lorelai smiled at his seriousness. "I know, I know... I'm just kidding around," she assured him. "Let the record show that this is a night of casual friendly camaraderie between two friends and should no way be confused for a romantic date-type evening." She moved her hand to his arm and squeezed it gently. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Luke leaned back in his chair and adjusted his baseball cap. He eyed her for a second, then quietly said, "It's just that…us hanging out… kinda _feels_ very similar to dating. You notice that?"

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, of course. I mean, it's hard for it not to, considering all the history we have, and the fact that we know we both _want_ to date. But we know it's on hold for now, we know what the plan is. So... yeah... it feels like it, but we know where to draw the line."

Luke felt relieved as he nodded. "Okay, good. Then…we're good."

"Yeah, we're good." Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then decided to broach the subject she'd been thinking about most of the day. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "So, um, Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"You _hate_ shopping," she declared.

Luke was confused by her randomness, so he just nodded slowly. "O…kay."

"But you knew that it would be a good way to distract me yesterday, so you took me shopping," Lorelai continued. "Shopping. An activity that you hate."

Luke shrugged. "I've gone shopping with you plenty of times before," he reminded her. "Too many to count."

"Yes, you have, but you still hate it. And you hate malls. You have several well-known, trademarked rants about your hatred of malls... but you _took me to a mall_. You took me _shopping_ at a _mall_ just to make me happy."

Luke didn't know how to respond, so he just shrugged nonchalantly.

"And you've always been good at that," Lorelai continued. "You're always doing things that I like or that I wanna do. But I started thinking that… we didn't really do a lot of the things that _you_ like to do. You know, together." She frowned as she added, "And we should have. I should've made more of an effort to get involved in your stuff."

Luke waved her off. "It's okay. It doesn't matter."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, it matters, Luke. You do things that I like just to make _me_ happy, and I wanna do things that _you_ like to make _you_ happy." Lorelai winced and added, "That sounds dirtier than I meant it."

Luke blushed slightly as he smirked. "Uh, yeah, I recall you doing lots of things that made me happy."

Lorelai smiled and playfully smacked his arm. "I'm talking about your guyish stuff. You know, camping, fishing, chainsaw demonstrations, sports stuff… those manly things you like."

Luke snorted a laugh. "Chainsaw demonstrations?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I'm sure that's a thing somewhere."

Luke nodded his head in feigned agreement. "Oh, I'm sure. Not real common in Stars Hollow, but if I come across one in my travels, I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Lorelai leaned toward him and placed her hand on his forearm. "Look, the last time we had this conversation... I did it wrong. I pushed you to go do your own things, but I should've tagged along _with you_." She paused a moment, then added, "I mean, you need your own space, too. I'm not saying that we should do _everything_ together. But, you know… I wanna be an active participant in Luke's 'World O'Hobbies'."

Luke eyed her warily. "My hobbies might be a little… more rugged than you're used to…"

"I know. But I can try them out."

"You really wanna go fishing?"

"Yup," she replied proudly. "I've done it before, remember? You taught me."

"And the camping?" Luke asked, still skeptical. "You're gonna sleep outside in a tent surrounded by bugs and animals with no bathrooms or electricity?"

Lorelai grimaced slightly. "Okay, I kind of forgot camping was more than just campfires and s'mores."

Luke smirked. "Uh, yeah, there's a bit more to it."

Lorelai tapped her nails on the table for a few seconds, pondering the options, then said, "Okay, well, maybe we could start with like a light version of camping in a cabin or something before we reenact scenes from _Survivor_." Lorelai excitedly patted his arm. "Huh? Good compromise?"

Luke, surprised by how steadfast she seemed with her intentions to get involved in his activities, smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure, we can do something like that."

Lorelai grinned. "Good."

"You know, why don't we start with a ballgame or something?" Luke suggested. "I mean, you're sitting the whole time, there's usually a good assortment of junk food and beer… it'll be like watching a movie."

Lorelai gasped. "Right up my alley!"

Luke smiled. "Yeah. We'll start off slow before jumping into that rugged stuff."

Lorelai took a long sip of her coffee and eyed him over the rim of her mug. She noticed he was giving her that enamored look again. His blue eyes were locked on her intently like there was nothing else in the world worth looking at. He was the only man who could look at her that way and make her completely melt.

As she set her mug back down on the table, she took a deep breath and said, "So, Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"If there was a date happening in here," Lorelai started. "Like, hypothetically, if there were two random people sitting here right now who were really on a date… I think the woman would probably want to tell the man that… he looks _really_ good." She smiled and added, "Hypothetically."

A smile instantly appeared on Luke's face. He leaned forward in his chair, locking his eyes with hers. "Well, I think the guy would probably wanna tell his date that she looks amazing," he said, nervously fidgeting with his hands. "And he'd probably want her to know that he had thought about her pretty much all day. You know, hypothetically."

Lorelai smiled and glanced shyly down at her piece of pie. She felt a sudden fluttering of butterflies in her stomach and she took a deep breath before meeting his gaze. "Hypothetically… she'd probably say, right back at ya."

That simple, sweet exchange that led to them grinning at each other in silence would undoubtedly replay in their minds as they drifted off to sleep that night.

Lorelai finally broke the silence and cleared her throat. "Well, um, that was a friendly, casual, impromptu moment. I think impromptu moments are okay during this transition stage, right?"

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Moments are good, no big deal… they happen, then we move on and still do what we're doing."

"Yup. Right. Exactly."

A few minutes later, Lorelai finished her pie and coffee, and they started walking toward Lorelai's house. It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't checked her cell phone lately, and she dug into her purse to find it. She pulled it out and flipped it open, then frowned. "Hm."

"Rory didn't respond yet?" Luke asked.

"Not yet," Lorelai replied as she closed the phone. "She might still be out to dinner, so she's probably distracted. Or maybe her phone died."

"She'll respond when she gets a chance," Luke assured her. "She's gonna get a kick out of that picture of Kirk in the mosquito costume."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." She dropped her phone back into her purse and they continued walking.

When they arrived at her house, Lorelai unlocked the front door and then turned to face him. "Thanks for the walk home," she said.

"Anytime," he replied as he rubbed her shoulders. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Lorelai pressed her lips to his for a gentle kiss, then pulled back with a smile. "I had a nice time on this very casual, friendshippy night that was definitely _not a date_."

Luke smiled. "Me, too." He gave her another soft kiss. "Goodnight." He watched her walk into the house and close the door before he turned to leave.

. . . . .

.

**To be continued…**

.

**Author's Note:** Sending out my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for reading! I really, really appreciate all of the favorites, follows, and feedback!

.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Past in the Present - Chapter 3**

. . . . .

The next morning, Lorelai stopped at the diner on her way to the inn. Luke was behind the counter, and he smiled when he saw her walk through the door. "Hey."

"Hi," she greeted him as she approached the counter.

"How'd it go at home last night?" Luke asked. "Second night any better than the first?"

Lorelai had to pause a moment to think back to her evening, and then she nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, I'd say it was a little better."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Really?"

"Really, truly," Lorelai confirmed. "I mean, yeah, I still felt sad and the house still felt weird, but there were less tears, and I did get some more sleep."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Wow, good. That's progress."

"Yup. And Rory texted me back last night," Lorelai said. "She loved the picture of Kirk, by the way. And she said she clicked with some of the other reporters at dinner, so she was happy."

Luke smiled. "Good, I'm glad. That should make you feel better, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it's a relief. I'm not as worried anymore about her feeling all alone, knowing that she has some potential friends with her."

Luke realized that Lorelai was still standing at the counter instead of taking a seat on a stool, which he presumed meant that she didn't plan to stay long. He gestured toward her. "You, uh… gotta run?"

Lorelai checked her watch to see how much time she had to spare. "Well, we have a staff meeting this morning, so I was just gonna get something to go. But I think I can stay for a few minutes."

Luke grabbed a to-go cup and held it up. "Here, we'll use this in case you lose track of time and have to bolt out of here."

"Perfect. And the chocolatiest chocolate chip muffin you have," Lorelai added as she slid onto a stool.

Luke set the coffee and muffin in front of her, and she started eating as he did a quick lap around the room to check on customers and take orders. After he stopped in the kitchen for a minute, he returned to her at the counter.

"So how'd the rest of _your_ night go?" Lorelai asked him as she continued picking at her muffin. "Did you do anything interesting, like maybe join a fight club?"

Luke glanced around the diner nervously, then leaned forward and whispered, "I can't talk about it."

Lorelai giggled. "Such a good rule-follower."

Luke smirked and started wiping down the counter in front of her with a dishtowel. "Actually, I talked to April for a little bit. She called to catch up."

Lorelai tensed slightly. Whenever April's name came up, even when Lorelai herself mentioned it, she felt…hesitant. Almost like her brain was sending out a warning signal that this was a topic that they weren't supposed to talk about yet.

Lorelai hid any signs of her inner anxiety by quickly smiling. "Oh, nice…how's she doing?"

"She's good," Luke confirmed. "She'll be finishing up the school year soon and then heading to that science camp for six weeks."

"Cool, that'll be fun for her," Lorelai said. "She seems to love that science-y stuff."

"Yup. She's pretty excited about it," Luke said with a nod. "I went through a phase where I was sort of into that stuff, too. Mr. Wizard, science experiments, you know."

Lorelai smiled. "I can totally picture that. A young, determined Luke trying to build himself an erupting volcano while an episode of Star Trek plays in the background on the TV." Lorelai giggled as she popped the last piece of muffin into her mouth.

Luke smirked and put his hands on his hips. "Something amusing?"

Lorelai was smiling as she shook her head. "Nope, adorable." She sipped her coffee, then suddenly gave him a sympathetic frown. "Oh, by the way, just so you're prepared… I kind of got shanghaied on my way here by Miss Patty."

Luke's smirk quickly faded into pursed lips. "What'd she say?"

"Well, she has it on good authority that you did not come into my house last night when you walked me home," Lorelai said. "And wanted to know if everything was okay with us... if perhaps we were having some difficulty reconnecting on an… _intimate level_."

Luke shook his head as he muttered, "Jesus."

"Apparently, when a new couple isn't shagging every night, it's a sign of relationship troubles."

Luke shook his head in annoyance. "See what you started at that meeting?"

Lorelai gasped. "Me?"

"Yes, you! You're the one that told them..." He quickly glanced around to see if anyone was listening, and then lowered his voice. "...that we're _together_."

"You'd really rather them think we're _not_ _together_?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes... no... " He threw his hands up in confusion. "I don't know."

"It's not a big deal," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I kind of like that people are asking questions about us."

Luke gave her a strange look. "You do?"

"Yeah. For a year, most people felt weird even mentioning your name around me… like you were _He Who Must Not Be Named_. But, now…" She smiled and patted his hand. "... I get to finally talk about you again without that awkwardness. It makes me happy."

Luke smiled. "I guess that's a good way to look at it."

"Yup." Lorelai checked the time, then brushed the crumbs from her hands and pushed her plate toward him. "Okay, I gotta go." She stood up, glanced down at her purse, then glanced back at Luke. "If I start to reach into my purse for some money, are you gonna yell at me?"

"Yup."

"Then I won't even waste my energy," Lorelai declared. "And to circumvent any sort of guilt for that, I'll just assume that you've got some running tab of my unpaid bills that will one day be presented to me by Kirk in his capacity as an employee of the Official Stars Hollow Debt Collection Agency." She eyed him with suspicion. "That's your plan, right?"

Playing along with her ruse, Luke folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "Exactly. You figured it out."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good. Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night, Lorelai was at home on the couch flipping through the television channels with Paul Anka cuddled on the cushion next to her. The phone rang, and she quickly grabbed it from the coffee table. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mom," Rory greeted her.

Lorelai grinned as she happily replied, "Hey, kid… what's going on?"

Rory took a deep breath and exhaled it quickly. "Well, I officially submitted my first article to my editor today."

Lorelai gasped. "Already? Did he like it?"

"I haven't heard back yet," Rory replied nervously. "I was literally shaking when I hit the send button, I've never been so anxious about sending an email."

"Well, listen, I'm sure he'll love it," Lorelai assured her as she jumped right into motherly encouragement mode. "And if for some reason he has recently gotten hit in the head by a blunt object which results in him _not loving it_ one hundred percent, he'll give you feedback on how to improve it, and then you'll know exactly what you need to do in all your other articles."

"I hope so," Rory replied with a sigh. "I think it turned out pretty well, but we'll see."

"I'm sure it's awesome, honey." Lorelai paused when she heard Rory typing on the other side of the phone. "What are you up to over there?"

"Oh, I have to create accounts on a couple of social media sites," Rory replied. "A lot of reporters use them to share their articles online."

"But aren't your articles already gonna be online?" Lorelai asked. "It's an _online_ magazine."

"Yeah, but this is a way to get the article out there on different sites and drive more people to the magazine's website," Rory explained. "It helps to spread my material around so more people can see it."

"You know, it's one of a mother's worst nightmares to hear that her daughter is _spreading_ something on the internet for more people to see," Lorelai said. "Are you trying to kill Mommy?"

"No, but if Mommy's a good girl, I'll help her join some of these sites, too," Rory promised. "That way you can have more ways to keep tabs on me."

Lorelai gasped with excitement. "Ooh, okay, I'll be good."

"Good. Keep talking, I'm listening as I type," Rory said. "How's the inn?"

"It's good," Lorelai replied. "Oh, I'll be working late tomorrow night at a retirement party, so if you get time to call me, call my cell."

"Call the cell, got it," Rory replied. "And how's Sookie feeling?"

"She's good, pregnancy's going well."

"And how's Luke?" Rory asked in a singsong voice. "Did you see him today?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, breakfast and dinner."

"And everything's still good?"

"The diner food?" Lorelai asked. "Yup, still tasty."

"Tsk, Mom, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, it's still good," Lorelai confirmed. "The friendship thing is going well."

"That's great."

"Yeah, it's great, I love that we're friends again..." Lorelai's voice trailed off.

Rory noticed the lull and prompted her to continue. "But…"

Lorelai sighed softly. "I just wish I saw him more. I mean, when I see him at the diner, we chat a little bit but he's always running around. Those darn needy customers keep distracting him. It's like they go to a restaurant and expect to be waited on hand and foot. Sheesh."

"Well, maybe you need to have some more excursions _out_ of the diner," Rory suggested. "Get away from those selfish customers and the work distractions."

"Yeah, but it's a little tricky going out somewhere with him casually and having it _not_ feel like a date."

"But it's okay if it _feels_ like a date, as long as you don't _act_ like it's a date," Rory said. "You know…keep things casual. Don't flirt, don't hold his hand, don't wear anything revealing… there are ways to make it not date-like."

"Easier said than done." Lorelai took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's already hard enough trying not to be flirty even when we're just at the diner, you know? I mean, I have these feelings I get when I see him and it's hard to push them down and say _'no, you can't come out yet!'_"

"They're uncontrollable," Rory agreed. "They have a mind of their own."

"It's like when you go to a party and you can _see_ the cake, but you still have to wait for it to officially be 'cake time' before you can have some," Lorelai said. "But throughout the whole party you see it sitting there mocking you and taunting you, and you're just so distracted by your desire for cake that you're just constantly thinking, _'Man, when are we gonna tear into that freaking cake already_?' You know?"

"So, metaphorically, life is a party and Luke's your cake," Rory concluded.

"Yeah."

"Well, in this scenario, you're in charge of the party, Mom," Rory reminded her. "_You_ get to be the one that controls cake time."

"Yeah, I know," she muttered as she nervously nibbled on her thumbnail. "Trust me, I know."

"So, when do you think you'll… _talk_?"

"I don't know," Lorelai replied with a sigh. "I want my head to be a little more focused before I sit down and discuss one of the worst things I ever did in my life, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand," Rory replied with a softened sympathetic tone. "It's only been three days. If your gut is telling you to wait, listen to it. When you're ready, you'll know…you'll feel when it's the right time."

"Yeah."

"Has he said anything about it?" Rory asked. "You know, like, asked for an ETA?"

"Nope," Lorelai confirmed. "But he made it clear that it's up to _me_, so he's probably just waiting it out." She was quiet for a second, then asked, "Oh, hey, have you talked to your grandparents?"

"Not yet."

"Well, I'm having dinner with them in two days," Lorelai said. "And I'd prefer not to have to sit there all night listening to them make remarks about how their granddaughter abandoned them and doesn't bother to keep in touch and no longer appreciates all the support they've given to her over the years and how - "

"Okay, okay, I get it," Rory interrupted. "I'll try to squeeze in a call tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rory replied. "You know, it's nice that you're still doing Friday night dinners, Mom. Probably means a lot to them, even if they don't show it."

"Yeah, well… we'll see if I'm still on board with the idea _after_ this week."

"It'll be fine," Rory said. "Just stick to generic topics, nothing that could raise a heated debate."

"I'm gonna talk about you, the inn, the weather, and if I need a little entertainment, I'll bring up that whole idea of you spreading yourself all over the internet."

"Good plan," Rory said, amused. "Okay, I should go. I have some things to research before bed."

"Wait, don't you wanna ask about your brother first?"

"My _what_?"

"Furry, four legs," Lorelai hinted.

"Oh, sorry. How's Paul Anka?"

Lorelai glanced down at the dog next to her. "Well, he's furiously writing in his diary about his big sister who forgot his existence," she replied. "But other than that, the same."

"Okay, good, give him a head-pat for me."

"I will. I love you."

"Love you, too."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Thursday afternoon, Lorelai and Sookie went to the diner for an early dinner. As they sat down at a table, Sookie quietly said, "Okay, I want you to just go on about your normal routine."

Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"

"This is my first time seeing you and Luke interacting together as an official non-dating couple," Sookie whispered. "I wanna just sit back and see what it's like."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, but was smiling. "Sookie…"

Sookie waved her off. "Just pretend I'm not here."

Luke walked over to the table. "Hey." He checked his watch, then gently tapped his hand against Lorelai's shoulder. "This is an odd time for you."

"Yeah, we're grabbing an early dinner," Lorelai replied. "Sookie and I are working late tonight."

"Oh, right, you have that party." Luke remembered her mentioning it when she was in for breakfast that morning. He glanced at Sookie, who had her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her hands, and was grinning up at him with wide eyes. His eyes slowly narrowed into a confused look.

Lorelai followed his gaze to Sookie, and then quickly cleared her throat to draw Luke's attention back to her. "Um, yeah, so the Hartford Quilt Guild is having a retirement celebration tonight for one of their board members," Lorelai said. "Sookie decorated this giant cake to look just like a quilt. It's fabulous."

"Oh, I bet it's... " Luke's voice trailed off as he glanced at Sookie again, who was still in the same pose. "Uh, is she okay?"

"Um, yeah, she's fine," Lorelai quickly replied. "Those pregnancy hormones make her act weird in public, that's all. We'll have a couple burgers, a coffee and an iced tea."

Luke glanced warily at Sookie, then nodded. "Okay."

As he walked away, Lorelai playfully poked Sookie on the arm as she hissed, "Sookie, stop it! You're _scaring_ Luke."

Sookie giggled as she dropped her elbows off the table. "Okay, do you wanna hear the observations I subtly observed?"

Lorelai snickered. "Subtly?" She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest with an amused smile. "Go on."

"So, first thing I noticed is... no kiss hello," Sookie said with a frown. "But you said kissing is okay, right?"

"Yeah, but so far it's been more of a _goodnight_ or _goodbye_ thing," Lorelai explained. "Hasn't really been used as a _hello_ greeting."

"Okay, in due time. More importantly, we did get some body contact." Sookie gestured to Lorelai's arm. "I saw him give you a slight little shoulder squeeze."

"Well, if we're going for accuracy, it was more of a shoulder _pat_," Lorelai corrected her.

"His eyes were definitely aglow when he looked at you," Sookie continued. "He seems happy."

Lorelai smiled and glanced over at the counter where Luke was getting their drinks. "Good. We like happy Luke."

"We _love_ happy Luke," Sookie corrected her.

"Ooh, he's coming, shh," Lorelai whispered. "Don't freak him out again."

Luke approached with their drinks and set them on the table. "Coffee... iced tea. Burgers will be out in a few."

Lorelai sighed dramatically and feigned impatience. "It's already been two minutes, what is the hold up?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please accept my sincere apologies that you have to wait a few minutes longer to ingest yet another meal that will eventually kill you."

Lorelai tapped her fingers on the table. "Hmm, I'll consider accepting your extremely heartfelt apology if you throw some tater tots on the plate."

"Instead of fries?" he asked.

"_With _the fries."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Geez."

"Ooh, a horseradish dipping sauce!" Sookie cried out as she put her hands on her stomach. "Craving!"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Uh oh, Luke. Pregnancy cravings cannot be denied. Please tell me you have some sort of horseradish dipping sauce for the... " She turned to Sookie. "What exactly are we dipping?"

"Tater tots!" Sookie exclaimed.

"For the tots," Lorelai finished to Luke. "We need a sauce for the tots, stat!"

Luke glanced back and forth between them, both staring up at him with anxious, hopeful looks, and then he muttered, "I'll see what I have."

Lorelai grinned and patted his arm. "Thank you." Luke lightly bumped her shoulder with his fist before he walked away from the table.

Sookie patted Lorelai excitedly on the arm. "You guys are acting just like you used to!"

Lorelai watched Luke as he moved around behind the counter, then she smiled and nodded at Sookie. "Yeah…we're back."

Sookie took a sip of her drink, then said, "So, tell me about Rory… what's the latest?"

"Well, she turned in her first article to her editor yesterday," Lorelai said. "And then today she texted me that he liked it, but he made a few suggestions, so she's gonna update it and send it back to him. And then hopefully it'll be on the website soon."

"Good, good," Sookie said. "And you? You're adjusting, right? Is it getting easier?"

"Well, every day I get a little more numb from the painful realization that my daughter's gone forever, which is turning my heart into cold, hard steel, so yes, that makes the situation easier to deal with."

Sookie smirked. "Glad to see someone hasn't lost her flair for the dramatics."

Lorelai smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "I guess, yeah, the shock of the situation is getting a little less-severe. The first day, it was like _'oh my God, this sucks, how am I going to survive this?_' I mean, I really didn't think I was gonna be able to do it, it was so overwhelming." She shrugged as she continued, "But then each day that goes by, it gets a little more like, _'okay, this still really sucks... but it's not the absolute end of the world, I think I can do this_.'"

"You _can _do it." Sookie assured her. "You _are _doing it."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Plus, talking to her and hearing that she's doing okay and that she's friendly with some of the other reporters… that helps a lot," she said. "It seems like she's starting to settle in a little."

Sookie smiled. "That's great."

A few minutes later, Luke arrived with their plates and set them down on the table. "Your dipping sauce request has been granted."

"Thank you, Genie," Lorelai replied. "You saved the day."

"Yeah, thanks, Luke," Sookie echoed her appreciation as she dipped her finger into the little dish of sauce on her plate. She tasted it, then closed her eyes as she let out a moan of approval. "Mmm, perfect."

Lorelai gestured to the mostly-empty tables behind Luke. "Seems kinda slow right now. You wanna sit with us for a few minutes?"

"I actually gotta unpack some things in the storage room before the dinner rush," Luke replied apologetically.

Lorelai hid her disappointment. "Oh, okay." She watched Luke walk away until he disappeared into the hallway leading to the storage room. She hated that she only saw him for such a small amount of time each day. She sighed softly and stared down at her plate, thinking about what Rory had said about spending time together out of the diner.

Sookie reached over and rubbed Lorelai's arm. "Go ahead."

Lorelai glanced over at her. "What?"

"Go back there with him," Sookie encouraged. "You wanna go see him, I can tell by that look on your face."

Lorelai shrugged and ate a French fry. "He's busy. I don't wanna get in the way."

"I'm sure it would be a welcomed interruption," Sookie said. "Plus, with you gone, that's more dipping sauce for me." Sookie reached for the little dish of sauce from Lorelai's plate.

Lorelai smiled. "I'll be right back."

She stood up and walked toward the storage room. She paused at the doorway, peering inside to watch Luke stack cans on the shelving unit. She knocked lightly on the doorframe. "Hey."

Startled, Luke quickly turned around and was surprised to see her. "Oh, hey. Everything okay?"

Lorelai walked slowly into the room with her arms folded across her chest. "Well, not completely…"

Luke eyed her curiously, trying to read her expression. "Oh." He moved away from the table covered with boxes and took a few steps toward her. "What's wrong?" he asked as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I have to register a tiny complaint."

"Complaint?"

"Yes. See, in order for us to continue working on this friendship of ours, I need to see you for more than a few minutes a day." Lorelai kept her arms folded firmly against her chest in an effort to not inadvertently get flirty with her hands. "We need to be more friendsy."

"More friendsy," Luke repeated slowly. "How do we do that?"

"Well, I think we need to do something outside of the diner," Lorelai said. "I mean, when we're here, you're always busy running around doing stuff, so we usually only get to hang out in like two-minute intervals." She quickly added, "Which I totally get - you have to work, I know. But that's why we need to get out of here."

Luke was completely receptive to her suggestion, considering he felt the same way about their limited time together…he needed more.

He nodded in agreement. "Okay, we can do that."

She smiled. "Good. I was thinking tomorrow night after I get home from Friday night dinner…maybe we could do a movie night."

"A movie night," Luke repeated.

"Yeah, at my house."

"At your house."

Lorelai cupped her hand around her ear and joked, "Is there an echo in here?"

"Sorry." Luke shook his head slightly. "Okay, yeah… movie night sounds good."

Lorelai smiled. "Great." She gestured toward the boxes behind him. "Well, I'll let you get back to work."

"Okay. I'll be out soon."

Lorelai headed out of the storage room and rejoined Sookie, who was giving her a devious smile. Lorelai knew exactly what she was thinking, and she shook her head. "Nothing dirty, Sookie."

Sookie frowned. "Dammit."

Lorelai started eating as she filled Sookie in on the discussion in the storage room. When they had finished their dinner, Lorelai walked up to Luke at the counter with some money that he tried to refuse.

"Luke, let me pay for something," Lorelai insisted. "You are not going to provide free food for everyone I come in with." She held out the money toward him. "Don't worry, I'll let you not-charge me for breakfast tomorrow."

"Fine." He reached for the money in her hand, and squeezed her fingers softly before he pulled back with the cash. "Hope the quilting party goes well tonight."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next night, Luke arrived at Lorelai's house slightly after nine and knocked on the front door. Lorelai answered quickly, and smiled when she saw him. "Hey."

"Hi." He stepped into the house and she shut the door behind him. He was carrying a takeout container that he offered to her. "Brought you something."

Lorelai opened it, gasping happily as the aroma of chocolate cake hit her. "Mmm, thank you."

As she headed toward the kitchen, Luke followed behind her. "So, how was dinner?"

Lorelai groaned slightly as she pulled open the silverware drawer. "As expected. Do you have any idea what it's like for me to go in there without my Rory-buffer?" She pulled out a fork and sat down at the table with the cake.

"I can sort of imagine it," he said as he sat down next to her.

"I mean, it wasn't _awful_, it just got a little mentally exhausting," Lorelai said. "They tried to show their concern about me potentially having empty-nest syndrome by constantly bringing it up… all night long."

Luke grimaced. "Ouch."

"My mom was quoting studies on the issue, telling me how it can lead to things like depression or an identity crisis," Lorelai continued. "And warning me that I need to do whatever it takes to fight off the devastating effects of this vicious disease."

"She give you some suggestions?"

"Yes, I need to join a social group or get involved with charity work so that I can regularly connect with other people." Lorelai paused to eat a bite of cake, and then added, "And, of course, it's pertinent that I find a man."

Luke snickered. "Oh, yeah?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, because the effects of empty-nest syndrome on a single parent can be much more severe without having a partner to go through it with. So she offered to set me up with some of her friends' sons." She gave him a sly smile. "Don't worry, I politely declined."

"Good," Luke replied. "Did you tell her…anything?"

"I just told her those guys aren't my type," Lorelai replied. "Which of course led to a couple snide remarks about how those guys come from _her world_, and I couldn't possibly be interested in anything that came from _her world_, and yada yada yada, did I mention I'm going to make up for the lack of a weekly Rory-buffer by increasing my weekly alcohol intake?" Lorelai sighed and ate another forkful of cake.

Luke frowned sympathetically. "Sorry it was a rough night."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, it's kinda looking up now." She shrugged nonchalantly as she added, "You know, because of the cake."

Luke smirked. "Right, the cake."

"So, fill me in on your day," Lorelai said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Ugh, Taylor."

Lorelai grimaced. "Uh oh. What did he do this time?"

"He came in to bug me about doing some kind of co-promotional thing," Luke explained. "Like, if someone buys a burger at the diner, they get a coupon for fifty cents off a milkshake from his store, and vice versa… something like that." Luke waved it off and shook his head. "No way I'm marketing myself with Taylor. Is he nuts?"

"The studies were determined to be inconclusive," Lorelai replied as she stood up from the table. "You want a beer?"

"Sure."

Lorelai walked to the fridge and brought two beers back to the table. She pulled the bottle opener out of a drawer and handed it to him. "Do the honors?"

"Yup." Luke opened the bottles, handed one to her, and then tossed the lids in the garbage can.

"You go sit down, get comfortable," Lorelai waved him toward the living room. "I'm gonna make some popcorn."

Luke slowly wandered down the hallway toward the living room, and stopped at the desk to survey the room. He noticed some differences since the days when it was practically _his_ living room, like the television mounted on the wall.

He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly as he walked around the room taking it all in. He stopped by the fireplace to pet Paul Anka before heading to the couch to sit.

A few minutes later, Lorelai entered the room and sat next to him on the couch. She set her beer and the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table next to her open laptop.

"Oh, here, look… this is what I was doing when you got here." She pulled the laptop onto her lap and sat back against the couch. "Rory helped me join this thing called Facebook."

Luke took a swig of his beer and eyed her curiously. "What the hell is a Facebook?"

"It's this website where you share pictures and send messages to people," Lorelai explained.

"Can't you do that stuff on your cell phone?" Luke asked. "Why do you need a website?"

"This lets you share things with a lot of people at once," she said as she showed him the screen. "See, you can post things out there, and then people can see it and comment on it."

Luke was staring at the screen with no clue as to what he was looking at, so he just nodded. "That's cool."

"Apparently, a lot of reporters use sites like this to share their articles," Lorelai said. "So Rory joined and then she helped set me up. There are a couple other sites we're gonna try, too." She shrugged as she added, "It's just another way to keep in touch with her… I'll take what I can get, ya know?"

Luke nodded understandingly. "Yeah. That's good."

Lorelai shut the laptop and put it on the coffee table, then stood up from the couch. "Okay, I figured we'd go with a comedy, so are you in more of like a silly-comedy mood, a classic-comedy mood, or a mockumentary mood?"

"I don't know what _any_ of those moods feels like," Luke told her. "So you pick."

"Okay, mockumentary it is," Lorelai declared as she walked over to the television. She took _This is Spinal Tap_ out of the case and put it in the DVD player. She grabbed the remote and the popcorn from the coffee table and settled next to him on the couch.

About an hour later, a tired Lorelai moved the bowl of popcorn that had been nestled between them, then moved closer to Luke and rested her head against him. He was surprised by the sudden contact, but instinctively put his arm around her. She rested her hand on his stomach, squeezing the soft fabric of his t-shirt between her fingers. Luke took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the movie instead of how good it felt to have her against him.

Oppositely, Lorelai closed her eyes so she could concentrate on _him_ - how incredible he smelled, how perfect her body molded to his, how much she'd missed being this close to him. Besides the occasional kiss or hug they'd shared throughout the week, this was the most intimate moment they'd had in a very long time.

She opened her eyes and slowly tilted her head to look up at him. Luke met her gaze and smiled at her, and she felt a shiver rush through her body. Her eyes became fixated on his mouth that looked too good to resist.

She leaned closer and pressed her lips to his, initiating a kiss that he eagerly returned. He rested a hand on her face, stroking her cheek softly as the kiss intensified with passion. Their tongues met and began tangling wildly in a heated battle of dominance.

As a soft moan escaped her throat, Lorelai abruptly broke the kiss and pulled back from him. Panting heavily to catch her breath, she muttered, "Oh, my God…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that."

Luke shook his head as he breathlessly panted, "It's okay, it's fine."

Lorelai covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "No, I should've stayed in my own space. I shouldn't put us into tempting situations like that."

"Lorelai, it's fine," he repeated more firmly as he gently pulled her hands from her face. "We're adults. We can kiss, we can sit close together… it doesn't mean we're not still taking it slow."

"Yeah, but we shouldn't put ourselves in circumstances that might catapult us from the slow category directly into warp speed," she pointed out. "Warp speed is not something we can do yet."

"I know that, we're on the same page here," Luke reminded her. "Us kissing on the couch is not gonna automatically make us run up to the bedroom. We know where to draw the line. We both know warp speed is off the table until we talk, right?"

"Right." Lorelai thought for a moment, then smirked. "Remember those couple of times we took it to warp speed _on_ a table?" Her eyes quickly widened as she gasped. "Oh, God, why did I say that? Don't get the image in your head!" She covered her mouth with her hand, muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry!"

Luke snorted a laugh. "It's okay."

Lorelai sighed and moved further away from him on the couch. "You know what, maybe we should just turn the volume up really loud and I'll go listen to the movie from the kitchen."

Luke smirked. "Stop it. Look, we didn't do anything wrong… we agreed that kissing is okay. That's all that happened, and that's all that _would have_ happened. Nothing else." He opened up his arm in an invitation for her to come closer. "So, come here…please?"

She apprehensively nibbled on her bottom lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Luke replied firmly. "It's no big deal."

Lorelai scooted closer and leaned against him, and he wrapped his arm around her. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "Feels nice."

"See, it's fine," Luke said. "We're gonna sit here together, we'll finish the movie, I'll give you a very chaste peck goodnight, and then I'm outta here."

Lorelai tilted her head to look up at him. "Chaste, huh? Wow, you really do know how to woo a girl," she teased playfully.

"Hey, when we're ready to woo, I'll woo you plenty," Luke stated confidently. "Until then, we know what to do and what _not_ to do." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's finish the movie, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay."

She turned to face the television, but her mind was still focused on him. She knew she was lucky that he was the way he was…that he could be so level-headed and patient in that situation. Another guy might have taken it in a completely opposite direction. At the very least, most guys would've asked her when she thought she'd be ready to move on, pushed for some sort of timeframe as to when they would reach _warp speed_. But not Luke.

Luke glanced down at her cuddled up against him, and he tightened his arm around her. When the transition period started, he had promised himself that he would never bring up the topic of them moving forward. He needed it to come from her, for it to be her decision for them to take the next step. He didn't want her to ever feel pressured by him. They had been given another chance to do things right, and he wasn't going to risk messing it up.

When the movie ended, they cleaned up the drinks and popcorn from the coffee table, and Lorelai walked Luke out to the front porch.

"This was nice," Luke said. "Getting out of the diner, it was a good idea."

"Yeah," she agreed. "We need to do that more. Even if it's just to go get frozen yogurt or something, you know? Just so we can have a little time together."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We'll do something tomorrow. You said you're working at night?"

"Yeah, I'm heading there around seven," Lorelai replied. "Inventory night at the Dragonfly."

"Okay, we'll do something in the afternoon." Luke stepped closer to her and pressed his lips to hers for a deep kiss. As he pulled back, he smirked. "Oh, sorry, that was supposed to be chaste, wasn't it?"

Lorelai smiled. "I forgive you." She kissed him again. "Goodnight."

"Night."

. . . . .

.

To be continued…

.

**Author's Note: **Thanks so much to everyone for reading and your continued support of this story! You're all awesome.

.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Past in the Present - Chapter 4**

. . . . .

On Saturday morning, Lorelai walked into the diner slightly after ten and frowned when she didn't see Luke. She headed to the counter and leaned toward the kitchen doorway, calling, "Luke! Are you back there? Come out!"

Luke walked out from the kitchen with a confused look. "Why are you yelling?"

Lorelai excitedly waved a piece of paper toward him. "Because I wanted to show you this!"

"What is it?" Luke asked as he tried to grab the paper from her moving hand. He finally succeeded and glanced down at it.

"It's Rory's first official article as part of her first official journalism job," Lorelai declared proudly. "It's gonna be posted on her magazine's website sometime today."

Luke's eyes widened. "Really? Already? She _just_ started!"

"Yup. She called me this morning to tell me, and then she emailed it to me so I could get a special preview." Lorelai was smiling brightly as she declared, "It's amazing. Really, I'm not even just saying that because of the whole birth-mother connection."

Luke smiled. "I bet it is." He glanced down to read it, then suddenly looked back up at her. "Oh, sorry… you want coffee?"

Lorelai tapped the paper in his hands. "No, read first, more important."

"Okay." Luke began reading the article, muttering aloud comments here and there about a good line or impressive word. When he finished it, he slowly lifted his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if taking it all in, then opened them and said, "Wow."

Lorelai smiled as she clapped her hands together excitedly. "Amazing, right?"

Luke shook his head in amazement. "Incredible. I can't believe she's this good. I mean, I _can_ believe it because she's _Rory_, but it just seems crazy because I still think of her as a little kid, you know? And little kids should not be able to do…" He waved the paper for emphasis. "…_this_."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lorelai agreed. "She's thrown into this new job, she's on the road, she has this new routine that she's trying to get a handle on, and is _still_ able to create something like that?" Lorelai shook her head in disbelief and then let out a happy sigh. "She's just… my hero."

"She's _you_," Luke pointed out. "You get thrown into situations and you figure things out and you do what you need to do. You guys are the same."

Lorelai shrugged and waved off the compliment. "Nah, Rory's better at it than I am. She's like the upgraded version of me…she's Lorelai 2.0, new and improved with a bigger brain and baby-soft skin."

"You know what we should do?" Luke said as he glanced back down at the article. "We should frame this, or maybe start some kind of binder of all her articles. You know, so we have them all in one place."

Lorelai smiled, not only at how casually and naturally he spoke of them as a _we,_ but at how genuinely proud he seemed, as if it was his own daughter's accomplishment. "That's a good idea," she agreed as she glanced at the paper in his hands. "That one's a little wrinkly, I'll print out a new one."

"Okay." He handed the paper back to her. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, to go. I wanna go show this to Sookie." Lorelai folded the article and put it in her purse, then leaned her elbows against the counter as she watched him pour her cup of coffee. "So, did you think of something for us to do today?"

Luke secured the lid on the to-go cup and placed it in front of her. "I did. You haven't seen my new boat yet," he said. "I thought we could take a ride out to the marina and check it out."

Lorelai gasped with excitement. "Oh, yeah, that'd be cool. Let's dress up in sailing outfits! Do you wanna be Gilligan or the Skipper?"

Luke smirked. "Well, I don't think we'll have time to actually take it out on the water."

Lorelai frowned. "But how are we supposed to reenact the 'I'm the king of the world' scene if we're not actually moving? It won't have the same energy."

"We'll go out on the water another time," Luke promised her. "But today we'll just check out the boat, walk around the marina a little. There's this outdoor snack bar if we wanna grab something to eat."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, sounds good. When do you wanna go?"

Luke shrugged and checked his watch. "Maybe around two? I'll come pick - " He was interrupted by a banging noise on the diner door, and Luke glanced toward it. "Oh boy," he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Lorelai followed his gaze and saw TJ struggling to open the door while carrying two laundry baskets stacked on top of each other. "Little help here," TJ called through the door.

Luke went over to open the door for him, and TJ walked in. "You should really get one of those automatic doors, Luke," TJ said. "The magic ones that see you coming and open for you. That would be easier for your customers."

"My customers aren't usually carrying laundry baskets," Luke pointed out.

"Well, wouldn't hurt the proprietor to be prepared for emergencies," TJ countered. He tilted the baskets toward Luke. "You mind taking the top one, buddy?"

Luke reluctantly took the basket from him. "Okay, stupid question… why do you have your laundry with you? You buying it some breakfast?"

TJ's eyes widened. "What do you mean, why? Our washer broke, and Liz said she called you to see if we could use yours."

"That's news to me," Luke replied with a shrug. "I never got a call."

"Are you sure you didn't maybe just forget?" TJ asked pointedly.

"I didn't forget, TJ," Luke muttered with a sigh. He turned toward the kitchen and called, "Caesar!"

Caesar appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Yeah, boss?"

"You forget to give me any phone messages recently?"

Caesar's gaze fell on the laundry baskets, and he smacked his palm to his forehead. "Your sister's washing machine broke and she wanted to bring her stuff over to use yours."

"See? She said she called, and she did," TJ declared as he walked toward the stairway to Luke's apartment. He nodded a hello toward Lorelai as he walked past the counter. "Lorelai."

"Hey, TJ." Lorelai watched him disappear behind the curtain, then turned back to Luke with a concerned look. "Uh, you're gonna supervise that, right?"

"Yup." Luke walked over and set the laundry basket on the stool next to her, steadying it with one hand. "I better get up there. So, I'll come pick you up around two?"

"Two it is. See you then." Lorelai picked up her coffee from the counter and started walking toward the door.

"Oh, hey," Luke called after her. "One more thing…"

Lorelai turned around. "Yeah?"

"If you happen to talk to Rory today," Luke started. "Or, whenever you _do_ talk to her... tell her that I loved the article, okay? And, you know, that I'm… proud of her." He shrugged nonchalantly and quickly added, "If you think of it. If not, it's no big deal."

Lorelai's lips curved into a wide smile and she nodded. "I will. I'll see you later."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That afternoon, Luke picked up Lorelai at her house and they drove to the marina, chatting about their days. Once they arrived, they walked down to the slip where his boat was docked.

"Here it is," Luke announced, gesturing toward it. "This one right here."

Lorelai gasped and her eyes widened. "Wow, it's like a real live boat!"

Luke had an amused smile on his face as he watched her stare up at the boat in awe. "Uh, yeah, that's what I was going for."

"I mean, your other one was like a baby boat - this one's like a grown-up," Lorelai explained. "It's so cool."

Luke smiled, happy that it had garnered a Lorelai seal of approval. "You wanna check it out?"

"We can go on it?" Lorelai asked excitedly. "Or do we go _in_ it? What's the proper thing to do to a boat?"

"We board it," Luke replied. "And yeah, come on." They boarded the boat and Luke showed her the inside cabin that housed the kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area.

"Wow, it's like a little tiny apartment that floats," Lorelai said.

"Basically, yes," he replied. "Everyone should have a backup floating apartment."

"This is great, Luke," Lorelai said sincerely. "It was a good upgrade you made. I mean, I know the last boat had a lot of memories behind it, but you'll get a lot of use out of this one."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I hope so." He gestured toward the stairs that led outside. "You wanna sit up on the deck for a little while?"

"Sure."

They climbed the stairs out of the inside cabin, and sat on the bench seat along the railing of the boat.

"This is beautiful," Lorelai said, gesturing to the scenery around the marina. "If I was a boat, I'd want to be parked here."

"Yes, that's why I picked this particular marina," Luke said. "So the boat could have a nice view from the water." She playfully nudged him with her elbow, and he smiled.

Luke leaned back against the boat railing and stretched out his legs in front of him. "So, um, Billy came into the diner for lunch today," he said. "You remember him from the construction crew?"

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai replied with a sly smirk. "I never forget the people who've accidentally seen me naked."

"Yeah, well, considering he _winked_ at me when he asked me to tell you hi, I'd say he hasn't forgotten you either," Luke muttered unenthusiastically.

Lorelai giggled as she raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Oh, yeah? Nice to know I have a memorable body."

Luke could certainly attest to the accuracy of that statement, but chose to let it go. He cleared his throat and adjusted his hat on his head. "Anyway, he's always getting free tickets to ball games." He shrugged as he added, "I don't ask how or why, I just know he gets 'em for free."

Lorelai smiled. "Ah. We'll just assume it's on the up and up."

"And he's offered them to me in the past when he wasn't able to go," Luke continued. "So I told him today that if any tickets come his way that he can't use, I'd take 'em. You know, so you and I could go to a game…if you still wanted to."

Lorelai grinned. "Definitely." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I think I'll be good at that whole 'watching men toss a ball around' thing."

Luke smirked. "I'm sure you will be. I'll let you know if he comes across anything."

"Okay."

Lorelai glanced around at the surrounding sights… the calm water, the greenery along the shoreline, the boats lined up along the dock, people lounging around the marina enjoying the sunshine.

As her gaze settled back on Luke, she smiled at him. "This is nice, huh? Actually having some quiet uninterrupted time together. No customers constantly bothering you to ask for more coffee…"

"That's usually _you_," he interjected with a smile.

"Or more fries…"

"Also you," he said with a firm nod

"Or the check…"

He shook his head. "_Not_ you."

Lorelai giggled and poked his shoulder. "You're in a teasing mood today."

He playfully bumped her knee with his fist. "Yup."

Lorelai turned her body so she was sitting cross-legged and facing him. "But you agree, right?"

"With what? That it's better actually being alone with you than surrounded by customers?" Luke asked, then snickered. "Uh, yeah, that's a given."

"Good." Lorelai started drawing small circles on his arm with her fingertip. "Glad to hear that we're both fond of this out-of-diner alone time."

Luke smirked. "My fondness hasn't been clear enough for ya?"

"Well, Luke, I think I need to let you in on a little secret," Lorelai said.

Luke eyed her curiously before he hesitantly replied, "Okay."

"Studies show that approximately ninety percent of women are afflicted with a minor disease called _Reassurance-itis_," Lorelai explained. "The most prevalent symptom for an affected woman is the constant need for reassurance regarding anything and everything in her life. Some examples include…being reminded that she's a good worker, that she makes good fashion choices, that she is just an overall amazing human being, et cetera, et cetera." She shrugged as she added, "She may also like to occasionally hear that other people enjoy her company."

"Gotcha," Luke replied with an understanding nod. "Life must be hard for the many women suffering from this disease."

"It really is," she agreed.

Luke smiled amusedly as he locked his eyes with hers and leaned closer toward her. "I enjoy your company."

Lorelai smiled and slowly leaned toward him until their lips met, and they kissed tenderly as Luke moved his hands up to cradle her neck. They separated briefly and shared a smile before Lorelai pressed her lips back to his. She ran her hands over his shoulders down to his chest, where she gripped his flannel shirt in her fingers. Their kisses were gentle but full of passion, and addictively satisfying. They'd kiss a little, separate for air, and then reconnect like magnets. This went on for a few minutes before Lorelai finally pulled back for good.

She glanced down at her lap as she tried to ignore the hint of guilt she felt. There he was, waiting patiently for her to decide when they could move forward in their relationship while she dragged him on a rollercoaster ride of impromptu makeout sessions. It felt like she was teasing him.

Luke saw the pensive look on her face. "Lorelai," he said softly as he rubbed her arm. "Talk."

Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a second before she said, "This whole circle we have going on…like, we're friends, then we're flirting, then we're friends again, then we're kissing, wash, rinse, repeat... you're definitely okay with that?"

"Yeah. We had this conversation last night," he reminded her. "I thought we were _both_ okay with it?"

"Yeah, we were," Lorelai said, then corrected herself, "I mean, we _are_. I _am_. But, you know…the reassurance-itis makes me feel like I have to do a quick follow-up check, make sure you're still on board." Lorelai tapped the boat railing with her hand and added, "No pun intended."

"Still on board," he confirmed. "I _like_ it this way... I like the circle."

"Really? You do?"

"Yeah, I do," Luke confirmed. "Because as much as we say we're in this _friend phase_..." He air-quoted the term with his fingers. "…we both know it's not really _just_ a friend phase. I mean, who are we kidding? We know there's more there, right?"

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"So, it's normal for that to come out once in awhile. It actually makes _pretending_ that we're just friends a little easier." Luke shook his head for emphasis as he continued, "Because we're not, Lorelai. We know we're not. And honestly, if it was easy for us to be _just friends_… I'd be nervous. The fact that it's hard for us to not blur the line sometimes, I think it's good."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Hm, good point."

"But are _you_ okay with it?" Luke asked in a more serious tone. "Because if you feel better keeping it strictly friends for now, you need to let me know."

"No, I'm okay with it," Lorelai said softly. "I was just kinda feeling like the bad guy, like I'm leading you on or something."

"You're not," Luke told her. "Neither of us are doing anything that the other one of us hasn't already agreed to do." He paused a second and replayed that sentence in his head, then asked, "That made sense, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it made sense. We're both okay with what we're doing."

"Good." Luke brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "I'm gonna kiss you again," he declared with a small smirk. "You good with that?" Lorelai smiled and nodded.

He kissed her gently, then pulled back and checked his watch. "I gotta get back to the diner in half an hour." He glanced over toward the main building of the marina. "You wanna go check out the snack bar, see what kind of stuff they have? Pretty sure they have milkshakes."

Lorelai gasped with excitement. "Yes, please."

They stood up and stepped off the boat onto the dock. They headed toward the snack bar, walking so closely together that their hands would casually brush against each other. Lorelai realized that if the intimate act of kissing was an approved activity for them, there was no reason hand-holding wouldn't be acceptable.

Lorelai glanced over at him and he met her gaze. She extended her pinkie out and stroked it across the top of his hand. He smiled as he responded in the same manner. She reached for his hand, letting her palm nestle gently against his, and he laced his fingers through hers. The results were far more spine-tingling than either thought they would be. They shared a smile and continued walking toward the snack bar.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Late the next afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner and headed right to the counter. She sat on a stool and glanced around as she waited for Luke, who was currently nowhere in sight.

He finally walked out from the back hallway carrying a box from the storage room, and he smiled when he saw her. "Hey. Give me one second."

"Okay." Lorelai watched as he disappeared into the kitchen with the box, and then walked back out a few seconds later carrying a couple of plates.

He delivered the plates to the table by the door, and then returned to her at the counter. "Okay, sorry…hey."

Lorelai smiled. "Hey."

"You want a burger?" he asked.

"No, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Actually, Sookie and I are going out for dinner."

Luke's eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Oh…okay." He tried to hide his disappointment that she wasn't staying. He had only seen her very briefly that morning for breakfast, and was hoping she'd be in for dinner.

"I just needed a little fix before I go," she added.

He gestured behind him toward the coffeepot. "Coffee-fix?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke-fix."

Luke smirked and placed his palms on the counter. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Lorelai smiled and leaned forward on her elbows against the counter. "Haven't seen you much today... I wanted to stop by and say hi."

"Hi." Luke smiled and held her gaze for a moment, reveling in the ego-boost he got from her stopping in just because she wanted to see him. Finally, he blinked himself out of his daze and asked, "So, how's your Sunday going?"

"Busy, but not overly exciting," she replied with a shrug. "Had to run some errands, went to the inn for a little while, talked to Rory very briefly. What about you?"

"Well, some kid learned that the salt and pepper shakers don't bounce when they hit the floor."

Lorelai grimaced and then frowned sympathetically. "Oh, no! Big mess?"

"Hazard of the business," Luke replied with a shrug. "We got it cleaned up pretty fast."

"Good."

"So, where are you and Sookie headed?"

"One of her old chef friends opened up a restaurant in Middletown and she thought we could go try it out," Lorelai replied. "A little girls' night out."

Luke nodded. "What kind of food?"

"It's a Mexican place," Lorelai replied. "And Sookie heard that apparently the homemade salsa is _to die for_. So, how could I turn down a place that has condiments worthier than human life?"

"Oh, you'd be crazy to," Luke agreed with a nod.

"I know! So, if you don't ever see me again, it means that I'm dead and you should blame the salsa."

Luke snickered. "Got it."

Lorelai checked her watch. "I gotta run." She glanced past him at the coffeepot and said, "Okay, while I'm _here_… might as well take some to go."

"You got it." Luke poured some coffee into a to-go cup and handed it to her.

"Thanks, put it on my tab." Lorelai smiled and nodded her head toward the door. "Walk me out?"

"Sure." Luke followed her out onto the sidewalk and he glanced around for her Jeep, which was nowhere to be found. "Did you walk here?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna walk over to Sookie's house and she's gonna drive," Lorelai replied. "You know, so I can knock back a margarita or two."

Luke smiled. "Gotcha. Try to stay outta trouble."

Lorelai shrugged with a playful smile. "I do try, but it usually finds me."

"Well, pick a better hiding spot," Luke suggested, and then he eyed her blue sundress. "You look nice, by the way."

Lorelai glanced down at the dress, and then smiled at him. "Thank you."

He stepped closer to her and lightly rested his hands on her waist. "Glad you stopped by."

"Well, I had been planning to come in tonight for dinner, so when Sookie called and invited me out…I knew I had to find some time to squeeze in a visit," Lorelai explained. "You know, so you wouldn't be going through Lorelai-withdrawal."

"Very thoughtful."

"Thank you." Lorelai smoothed out the turned-up corner of his flannel collar, then she met his gaze. "It also helped to ward off my Luke-withdrawal."

"So this visit was mutually beneficial," he surmised.

"I like to think they all are," she countered.

Luke smirked as he nodded in agreement. "They are."

"Good."

"So… have fun with Sookie."

"Thank you." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Bye." She turned and started walking toward Sookie's house, and Luke headed back into the diner.

. . . . .

. . . . .

An hour later, Sookie and Lorelai were settled in at the restaurant with drinks and appetizers.

"My God, this really is to die for," Lorelai declared as she dipped a chip into the bowl of salsa.

"Mmhmm," Sookie agreed as she took a bite of her own salsa-covered chip. "I could eat this with a spoon."

"And to have it personally delivered by the chef himself," Lorelai remarked with an impressed nod. "How fancy."

"I know! Wasn't he so sweet to come out here? He was always the sweetest guy."

"Yes, very sweet," Lorelai agreed. "And he seemed pretty happy to see you." She playfully poked Sookie on the arm. "You and him have a fling back in the day?"

Sookie blushed slightly as she giggled. "No! He's just always been very friendly."

Lorelai shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Methinks the salsa man maybe had a little crush on you, though."

Sookie glanced around the restaurant to make sure he wasn't within hearing distance, then turned back to Lorelai and whispered, "He _may_ have had a thing for me."

"Ha!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I knew it."

"We were never an item," Sookie insisted. "But we bonded during a butchery class, and he was always very flattering of my cleaver skills."

"Well, sure," Lorelai said knowingly. "It's hard to find a girl with good cleaver skills."

Sookie waved it off. "Anyway, nothing happened, but he's always been very nice to me."

"He seems great," Lorelai said. "And makes a killer salsa."

"That he does," Sookie agreed. She took a sip of her drink, then said, "What's new with Luke?"

Lorelai smiled. "Not much… it's been great." She paused a second, then wrinkled her nose as she added, "I think we're getting a bit more lax."

"Lax," Sookie repeated. "What does that mean?"

"It means, I think we're not trying _quite_ as hard to keep the friend phrase completely… _friendly_," Lorelai admitted.

Sookie gasped loudly and pointed an accusing finger at Lorelai. "You had sex with Luke and didn't tell me!"

Lorelai's eyes quickly widened. "Sookie, shh!" She glanced around at the nearby tables to see if anyone had heard that declaration. Luckily the noise in the crowded restaurant seemed to have kept Sookie's outburst confined to just their table.

"Sorry," Sookie whispered as she leaned closer to her. "But did you?"

"No, of course not," Lorelai said firmly. "I'm just saying, we're okay with a flirty touch here, or some hand holding there. We're not rounding any bases or anything, but just… little things are seeping in, and we're okay with it."

Sookie grinned. "That's good, right? It sounds good."

"Yeah, it feels good," Lorelai confirmed with a smile. "I mean, just holding hands yesterday felt like the most romantic, intimate thing in the entire world. That little extra connection between us felt _so_ nice, you know?"

"Awww," Sookie gushed. "It's like you're cute little teenagers."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah."

"So, if you're starting to get flirtier now and add more _oomph_ to the friend phase," Sookie started. "Does that mean you're maybe ready to take the next step and talk things out?"

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know... I'm not sure yet." She sipped her drink, then said, "You know, he hasn't asked me _once_ when I'll be ready to talk. And he's had plenty of chances where he could bring it up naturally, but he just totally avoids it. What do you think that means?"

"It means he's patiently waiting for you," Sookie replied. "He knows you'll be ready eventually and he's not gonna rush it."

Lorelai picked up a chip and aimlessly stirred the salsa with it. "So, you don't think he's freaking out that I haven't said anything about it yet?"

"Uh, no, honey," Sookie replied with a laugh. "I mean, when you serenade a man with _I Will Always Love You_, I think the message is pretty clear about where you stand."

Lorelai grimaced. "Just when I start to forget about that, you bring it up again. You're like a snooze alarm, constantly jolting me back to reality."

Sookie giggled. "Sorry." The conversation paused as the waiter delivered their entrees to the table, and they began eating.

Lorelai ate a forkful of food, then said, "So, when I was in the diner for breakfast today, April's name came up. Just casually, part of the conversation, nothing out of the ordinary, but…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at her plate with a soft sigh.

Sookie grimaced slightly. "Still feels weird?"

Lorelai reluctantly nodded. "Yeah. And I hate it... I _hate_ having that feeling in the back of my mind like this is a topic I still need to be careful about."

"Well, we both know that feeling won't go away until you and Luke talk about it," Sookie said. "He needs to make you comfortable with that topic."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"Just like Luke might have a similar feeling when a certain you-know-who's name comes up," Sookie pointed out. "And you'll have to do the same thing when you have the talk… you'll have to make _him_ comfortable with it."

Lorelai groaned. "I know. Talk about an impossible task."

Sookie rubbed Lorelai comfortingly on the shoulder. "It'll be okay." She put her fork down on her plate and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Okay, I wanna say something, but I wanna make it clear that I'm not trying to push you in a particular direction, because _you'll know_ when you're ready…but I just want you to think about it."

"Think about it," Lorelai repeated. "Okay, tell me something to think about."

"Well, if you're not ready to have the talk with Luke yet because you're still dealing with the Rory stuff, that's one thing," Sookie said. "You don't wanna be too emotionally distracted."

"Right," Lorelai agreed, then prompted her to continue. "But?"

"But if you're putting if off just because you're nervous or scared to deal with it, you need to realize, sweetie, it's probably _always_ gonna be scary and nerve-racking no matter how long you wait it out." Sookie reached over and patted Lorelai's arm. "But it _will_ have to be done _eventually_. You can't push it off forever."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Right…I know."

"And, remember, you can still take it slow and work on this little flirty friendship thing _after_ that," Sookie pointed out. "Having that talk doesn't mean you're required to jump right into some sort of heavy-duty serious relationship zone. It just gets you over the hump and moves you in the right direction."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She was quiet for a moment as she thought it over, and then she tapped the side of her head. "Okay, I've filed all of that in here for now and will process it later."

"Okay."

Lorelai took a large sip of her drink, moaning happily as she swallowed it down. As she placed the glass back on the table, she said, "I suggest Margarita as a possible baby name."

Sookie giggled. "I'll run it by Jackson."

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was almost eight when Sookie and Lorelai returned to Stars Hollow, and per Lorelai's request, Sookie dropped her off in front of the diner. Lorelai walked inside, happily taking notice that the tables were mostly empty. Luke was behind the counter, and was pleasantly surprised to see her.

"Hey," he said. "Wasn't expecting you back tonight."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure if I would be," Lorelai said as she reached the counter. "I didn't know if we were going anywhere after dinner, and also wasn't sure what my blood alcohol level would be, so had to play it by ear."

Luke smirked. "You seem okay…"

"Yes, based on the impromptu sobriety check Sookie just gave me in the car, I am indeed sober," Lorelai declared. "Which is good, because she wasn't going to let me come in here if I wasn't."

Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why not?"

Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "She likes me to have full control of my faculties when I'm out alone in public so I don't do or say anything stupid."

Luke snickered. "Good old Sookie, keeping you in line."

"Yup. But she tends to forget that I'm just as unpredictable when I _do_ have control of them."

Luke smiled. "Good point. You want coffee?"

Lorelai glanced outside into the town square and then brought her gaze back to Luke. "I was hoping maybe you could slip away for a few minutes and we could take a walk or something." She looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "You know, a little _away-from-the-diner_ time?"

Luke couldn't even fathom turning down her request, especially after the limited time he'd seen her that day. "Yeah. Give me a few minutes… let me make sure Caesar's situated."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good. I'll wait outside." Luke watched her walk out of the diner, then he headed into the kitchen.

Lorelai crossed the street and sat on the bench in front of the gazebo. A few minutes passed before Luke walked out of the diner, and Lorelai stood up when she saw him. They walked toward each other and met in the middle of the street.

"You wanna walk to the lake?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that'd be good."

Luke offered his hand toward her, and that gesture alone made her body feel tingly. She slipped her hand into his, trying to ignore the electricity that raced through her body when their fingers interlocked.

As they started walking toward the lake, Luke asked, "So, how was dinner?"

"It was great," Lorelai confirmed. "Drinks were good, food was excellent. I did temporarily die from the amazing salsa, but they very conveniently have a doctor right there on staff to revive you, so it all worked out."

Luke smiled. "Good. Sounds fun."

"Yeah, it was good," Lorelai replied. "How was your night?"

"Nothing exciting, the usual Sunday night crowd," Luke replied. "Oh, Liz came by with Doula to thank me for helping out with the laundry issue. Theirs should be fixed in a few days."

"How's Doula doing?" Lorelai asked. "What is she, about six months now?"

"Yup, just about," Luke replied. "She's good, she's starting to make more sounds and stuff, you know? Like, those _baby_ sounds..."

"Like gurgles and stuff?" Lorelai suggested with an amused smile.

"Yeah, I guess," Luke replied. "It's like she's trying to talk to us like a real person, you know? And she's starting to sit up on her own now, too."

Lorelai found it endearing the way his eyes lit up when he talked about the baby, and she playfully bumped against him with her shoulder. "Looks like that little girl has your heart, Luke Danes."

Luke shrugged and smiled shyly toward the ground. "Yeah, well…"

They reached the lake and strolled onto the bridge, stopping at the midway point. "Let's sit for a minute," Lorelai suggested as she abruptly lowered herself to a seated position. Luke joined her, and they let their legs hang over the water.

Lorelai glanced around, taking in the scenery that surrounded them. "It's so pretty here," she commented. "Peaceful."

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Some good memories of this place over the years."

Lorelai nodded. "This is a very good location for memory building."

He pointed over toward the large oak tree at the edge of the lake. "I recall taking a walk at night with someone and then spontaneously creating a very memorable moment behind that tree."

"Oh, my God." Lorelai immediately blushed and covered her mouth with her hand. "That feels like ages ago."

"It was." Luke smiled as he tapped his finger to the side of his head. "But in here, I can picture it like it was yesterday."

Lorelai laughed and nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Oh, I bet you can. Man, that was crazy."

"It was _your_ idea," he reminded her. "_You're_ the crazy one."

Lorelai gasped. "Excuse me, you went along with it!"

"Well, I'd be a fool to turn that down!" he laughingly retorted, then shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe we did that. I mean, we _really_ did that, right? Wasn't just a dream?"

Lorelai smirked. "Nope, not a dream. I think we both got some scrapes and bruises that night."

"Okay, we have to stop talking about it."

"_You_ brought it up!" Lorelai exclaimed with a laugh.

"I know, but let's change the subject," Luke urged.

"Uh, what about over there?" Lorelai pointed toward the open grassy knoll near the far end of the lake. "That's where we watched the fireworks during one of the town festivals. I can't remember which one."

"Memorial Day, two years ago," Luke replied without hesitation. "You drank too much of that disgusting Memorial Day Punch."

"Oh my God, that's right!" She smiled at him as the details of the night came back to her. "I didn't feel well and you wanted to take me home, but I wanted to stay at the festival to see the fireworks..."

"They're the same fireworks every year," he interjected. "You weren't gonna miss anything."

"It's tradition... you don't break tradition," she said firmly, then continued recalling the night. "So you brought me out here away from the crowd. We sat on the grass and I leaned back against you and we watched the fireworks all alone, like we were in our own little private viewing area. It was quiet and kind of…um…" Lorelai stopped herself before saying _romantic_. "…nice. It was nice. Remember?"

Luke, who had been gazing out at the water, turned and smiled at her. "Yeah, I remember. It was nice." Lorelai rested her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her as he pointedly muttered, "But I told you to avoid that punch."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I must not have heard you. You should've made your suggestion a little louder."

"I'll do that next time."

They chatted for a few more minutes on the bridge before Luke stood up and then helped her up. They walked back to Lorelai's house, and shared a goodnight kiss on the porch before Luke left to head back to the diner.

Lorelai opened the front door and was greeted by Paul Anka, who was anxious to get outside. She snapped on his leash and brought him out for a quick walk as she tried to make sense of the thoughts running through her head.

Sookie was right…Lorelai _was_ scared about having the talk with Luke. She was nervous that revisiting their past issues and having those emotions fresh in their minds again would possibly make it harder to get past them. And now that their friendship was finally getting back to where it used to be, the thought of losing it again, of losing _him_, terrified her. The transition period had become a safe zone…as long as she was there, she didn't have to confront those fears.

But when she was sitting on the bridge with Luke, she started to see things from another viewpoint. Talking about some of their memories from the past made her that much more excited about creating new ones with him in the future. And she knew that while they were in the transition period, there were limits to the new memories they could create; there were guidelines as to what they should and shouldn't do.

She thought back to what Rory had said a few days ago, about how her gut would tell her when the time was right. This was it. She didn't want limits…she needed them to be able to move forward whenever and in whatever way they wanted. Whether they decided to continue moving slowly or to speed things up, having that talk would free them from their boundaries.

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next morning, Luke walked out of the diner's kitchen with a plate of food and delivered it to Kirk at his table.

Luke started to walk away, but Kirk stopped him. "Uh, Luke, I have a few questions for you."

Luke turned back toward him and folded his arms across his chest. "What is it, Kirk?"

Kirk glanced down at the plate in front of him, surveying the meal. He slowly turned the plate around, looking at the food from all angles. "Would you say your cheese omelets are always typically this size?"

Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Uh… yup."

Kirk picked up a piece of toast. "Is this the typical coloring of the toast you serve?"

"Yes, Kirk," Luke replied curtly, his annoyance growing.

Kirk picked up a link of sausage with his fork. "And would you say this sausage is cooked in a way that you would normally cook sausage?"

"You mean, did I cook it on the stove like I've been doing for as long as I could cook sausage?" Luke grumbled impatiently. "Uh, yeah, Kirk. We done here?"

"Yes, that'll be all," Kirk said dismissively.

Luke sighed and shook his head as he walked back to the counter. He grabbed the coffee pot and began making the rounds refilling mugs. He heard the sound of a camera going off, and he glanced back over at Kirk, who was now taking pictures of his food.

An annoyed but curious Luke walked over to him. "What the hell are you doing, Kirk?"

Kirk took another picture of the food. "I'm just getting some physical documentation."

Luke sighed. "Do I wanna know for what?"

"I'm starting a new blog," Kirk replied. "I'll be visiting the local restaurants to review all the meals and the dining experience. Now the fine people of Stars Hollow will know exactly what to expect from every food establishment in town."

"And you think this is a valuable use of your time?" Luke asked. "The food here has been the same for the past - " He cut himself off and raised a hand. "You know what, never mind, do what you want." Luke started walking back toward the counter.

"Be sure to check out _A Blog By Kirk_," Kirk called after him.

Luke waved him off and started wiping down the counter. The bell on the door jingled, and he glanced toward it to see Lorelai walk into the diner. "Thank God, a normal person," Luke greeted her.

Lorelai glanced behind her. "Really, where?" she joked as she walked over to him. "Morning." She set her purse on the counter and slid onto a stool.

"Morning." Luke poured her a cup of coffee and placed it in front of her. "How're you doing?"

Lorelai took a sip of the coffee, and then gently placed the mug back on the counter. "Well…"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, immediately sensing that she had something on her mind. "What's up?"

Lorelai folded her hands in front of her on the counter. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Um, I think I'm ready to get on with that whole _talking_ thing."

Luke wasn't sure why it shocked him to hear her say that, considering the topic was in the back of his mind every day, but his eyes widened. "What?"

"The talking thing we've been waiting on," Lorelai said. "I'm ready… if you are."

He placed his hands on the counter and started lightly tapping his fingers. "You're ready," he repeated. "You're ready for the talking thing."

"Yeah. I've been doing okay, I think, dealing with Rory and everything…" Her voice trailed off in a way that he knew she was hoping for his confirmation.

"You have been," he nodded in agreement. "You're doing great."

"So... it's time to take this next step," Lorelai said. "And then…we'll see what happens from there, you know?"

"Yeah." He smiled and adjusted his cap on his head. "Next step..."

Lorelai took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, I was thinking about it last night, and we probably both have certain… _topics_… that we wanna ask the other person about, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, so I was thinking that we should each make a list of what we wanna talk about. Anything we really need to discuss with each other... just lay it all out there," she suggested. "No holding back."

"A list," Luke repeated.

"Yeah. You write down the topics you wanna talk about, I'll write down what I wanna talk about, and then tonight you can come over and we'll start going through the lists and hashing things out." She quickly added, "I mean, if you're free tonight. It doesn't have to be _tonight_. It can be whenever…"

"I'm free tonight."

"Okay, good. Me, too." Lorelai paused a second, then finished, "So, I guess… we'll talk tonight."

"Tonight," he repeated with a nod.

They both fell silent. Luke started wiping down the counter with a dishtowel. Lorelai picked up her coffee mug and took a sip, and then set it back on the counter with her hands still wrapped around it. She focused her gaze on the 'No Cell Phones' sign in front of her.

Luke was trying to ignore the pit he felt in his stomach as he aimlessly wiped the same clean spot over and over. He knew this was something they had to do, he knew it was a good step for them... but he also knew it wouldn't be easy.

He shook his head slightly, trying to free himself of the nerves. He glanced at Lorelai and could tell she was anxious. She was nibbling on her bottom lip, her fingers restlessly tapping the side of her mug as she stared straight ahead.

He gently rested his hand on her arm, and her fingers immediately stilled. Lorelai glanced down at his hand, and then slowly brought her gaze up to his face. As he stroked his thumb soothingly across her arm, he smiled and said, "It'll be okay."

Lorelai felt comforted by his calmness, and she nodded quickly. "Yeah... yeah, I know, it'll be good. I'm just a little...um..." Her voice trailed off and she stared quietly into his eyes.

"Yeah, me, too," he admitted.

"Really?" Strangely, it made her feel better that they were _both_ nervous... like they were on even ground. "You are?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. But it'll be good to get through it and not have it hanging over us." He glanced past Lorelai and saw a customer trying to get his attention. "Be right back," he said to Lorelai, and he walked away from the counter.

Kirk approached Lorelai holding a notebook and pen. "Excuse me, Lorelai…how long does the Dragonfly serve breakfast?"

Lorelai spun on her stool to look at him. "Um, 'til 10:30, Kirk. Why?"

Kirk made a note in his notebook. "I'm going to stop by and order a few meals." He paused a second when he suddenly thought of a better idea. "Wait, would you be opposed to me walking around your dining room, interviewing your guests about their meals and taking pictures of their food?"

"Yes, _strongly_ opposed," Lorelai said firmly. "Don't do that."

Luke walked back to the counter and opened the register. "Kirk, leave her alone, I mean it."

"But I need to -" Kirk started

"Kirk," Luke interrupted him and pointed toward Kirk's table. "Go sit down, or pay up and get out of here."

Kirk started writing in his notebook. "_Proprietor does not like customers to mingle_," he muttered aloud as he wrote, then walked back to his table.

As Luke made change at the register, Lorelai asked, "What's that about?"

Luke rolled his eyes and waved it off. "Kirk's reviewing all the restaurants in town." He shut the register, brought the change to the table by the window, and then returned to Lorelai at the counter. "So... you're okay, right? I mean, if you wanna wait longer to talk, we _can_."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm ready... I'm really ready." She sighed softly before adding, "It's just... you know... probably not gonna be the most _fun_ conversation we'll ever have."

Luke nodded understandingly. "I know." He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. "Look, just try not to stress yourself out about it. You make your list, I'll make mine, and we'll get through 'em."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She tapped the side of her mug. "Can I get this to go with a blueberry muffin? I should get to the inn."

"Yup." Luke quickly poured the contents of her mug into a to-go cup and secured the lid, then placed a muffin in a paper bag. He set them down in front of her, then softly squeezed her hand. "I'll see you later."

"Yes, you will." Lorelai smiled and leaned across the counter to kiss him. "Bye." She grabbed her purse and breakfast and headed out the door, as Luke watched on from behind the counter. He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to take his own advice about not stressing out.

He glanced over toward the far end of the counter, where Kirk was preparing to take a picture of the muffins through the glass display stand. "Kirk!" Luke growled. Kirk took a quick picture and rushed back to his table.

Luke sighed and headed toward the kitchen, muttering, "This is gonna be a long day."

. . . . .

.

To be continued…

.

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**Author's Note:** Sending out a great big THANK YOU to all of you wonderful readers out there, you have my sincerest gratitude!

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	5. Chapter 5

**The Past in the Present - Chapter 5 **

. . . . .

Later that morning, Lorelai sat on a stool in the kitchen of the Dragonfly Inn, distractedly tapping her pen on the table as she pondered what else she should add to her list. Sookie was moving quickly around the kitchen as she and her staff prepared breakfast.

"This is partially your fault, you know," Lorelai told Sookie. "You put that stuff in my head and made me think about it, and now I'm headed into the depths of hell and I'm not so sure I will be coming back."

"You think you might be exaggerating just a bit?" Sookie asked.

"And to top it all off, not only did I decide to be a wise upstanding adult and make the responsible choice," Lorelai continued. "But then I had to go and suggest that we do this _tonight_? What was I thinking? Why couldn't I have said, _Hey, Luke, I'm ready to talk, let's pick a time. You got any openings in July?_" Lorelai threw her hands up in disbelief. "I could've had a two-month buffer!"

"Calm down. You're driving yourself crazy." Sookie pulled a pan of scones out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool.

"Yes, I am, and it's a very scenic drive," Lorelai replied. "And I'm about 10 hours from my destination, which, did I mention, is the depths of hell?" Lorelai folded her arms on the table and buried her face in them.

Sookie walked over to Lorelai and stood in front of her. "Lorelai..." She tapped her on the arm. "Honey, look at me."

A frowning Lorelai slowly lifted her head up to look at Sookie.

Sookie put her hands on Lorelai's shoulders. "Look, I know this isn't gonna be easy, but this is a _good_ thing that you're getting it over with now. This talk is gonna help you get closure on that stuff that happened in the past so you can have a healthy relationship going forward. Sure, there may be some disagreeing... maybe a little yelling... probably even some crying..."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Great pep talk, Sookie."

Sookie winced slightly and then frowned. "I know, I'm sorry…but I'm just trying to say that even though it might be tough to get through, it'll be worth it."

"But what if it's _not_?" Lorelai asked sadly. "What if we go through this whole big thing and then it makes us realize that, no, we _can't_ put aside the past?"

Sookie waved her off. "Not gonna happen."

"It's not?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"Nope."

"You seem very sure of that."

"Yes, because I think if there were any deep-rooted grudges on either side, they would've already come out and you wouldn't have even made it through the week together," Sookie explained. "That tells me that you're both willing to forgive."

Lorelai nodded as Sookie's words sank in. "Hopefully you're right. I just wish I wasn't so unbelievably convinced that this whole talk is going to be _awful_."

Sookie sympathetically squeezed Lorelai's shoulders. "It won't be _awful_."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Sookie."

Sookie quickly nodded and conceded, "Okay, yes, fine, it'll probably be awful. You're talking about huge issues that destroyed your relationship. Of course it's gonna be tough."

"It's just been so nice this week being able to hang out with him and avoid that stuff." Lorelai huffed out a sigh of exasperation. "Dammit, I should've pushed it off longer."

"Oh, yeah, because avoiding things worked out real well last time," Sookie said sarcastically. "You avoided telling him how you felt about the April situation and you let it fester inside of you for months until it exploded."

Lorelai sighed and reluctantly muttered, "I know."

"And the same thing will happen again," Sookie told her. "All this stuff will build up inside both of you until BAM - one of you gets a little miffed at the other about something stupid, like how he forgot to pick up whipped cream at the market, and then suddenly you're crying and yelling, _'And why did you push me away when you found out about April!_' That's how it happens... something little will set you off into a fit of rage and all those avoided topics will come out." Sookie put her hands on Lorelai's shoulders and said firmly, "So, yeah, this is extremely good that you're getting it all out now."

"You're right, I know," Lorelai nodded adamantly in agreement. "It's a good thing, talking it out. It's what we need to do. I just... I'm nervous, Sookie. It's scary."

"I know, sweetie... but you'll get through it." Sookie walked to the center island, picked up the tray of scones, and then walked back to Lorelai. "Taste test."

Lorelai selected a scone and took a bite. "Mmm," she nodded affirmatively as she chewed. "Very good."

"Thank you," Sookie replied as she set the tray back on the counter. She walked back over to Lorelai and took a deep breath. "Bottom line here is this - if you wanna make sure this talk is done right, you know you can't hold back _anything_. Either of you."

"I know."

"I mean, you need to put anything on this list that you have questions about, no matter how little you think it is, no matter if you think asking about it will get him mad. If you want a clean slate, you need to dig deep and talk about everything. Like, _everything_."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay."

"Ooh, ask him why he likes flannel so much," Sookie suggested. "And why he prefers the baseball cap _backwards_. This is your chance to get to the bottom of all of Luke's quirks."

Lorelai smirked. "Sookie."

Sookie giggled. "Inquiring minds wanna know." She walked back over to the island and started putting the scones on a serving platter.

Lorelai broke off a piece of her scone and popped it into her mouth. "What do you think he's gonna put on his list?"

Sookie froze momentarily, and then slowly glanced over at Lorelai. "You know what he's putting on his list, honey," Sookie said softly.

Lorelai sighed and fidgeted with the pen in her hand. "Yeah, I know."

"Are you ready to talk about that?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Uh, yeah, sure. And as excited about it as I'd be to get a double root canal by a dentist who embraces the Tom Hanks method of dentistry by using only an ice skate."

Sookie frowned. "Figured as much."

Lorelai sighed and stood up. "I can't think about it. I need to just go not think about it for awhile."

"Okay," Sookie replied. "Come back if you need to talk anything out or need help mentally preparing or something."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "I will, thanks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few hours later, Lorelai was working in her office when her cell phone rang. She checked the front display and smiled when she saw Rory's name.

Lorelai flipped open the phone and answered, "Hi, favorite daughter."

"Hey, Mom," Rory replied. "I just saw the text you sent earlier. You busy?"

"No, I'm just looking through some invoices," Lorelai replied as she pushed the stack of papers away from her. "How's it going?"

"I'm good, I'm fine," Rory replied quickly. "But tell me about you. Your text said you guys are talking tonight. That's big, Mom. That's _huge_."

"Yup, tonight's the night," Lorelai confirmed. "And yeah, it's pretty huge."

"Are you okay?" Rory asked. "Are you nervous?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Rory said sympathetically. "But this is a good thing. I mean, I know it might be difficult, but you'll get through it and then you and Luke can be… _you and Luke_ again."

"I hope so," Lorelai murmured.

"I'm sorry I'm not there for moral support."

"Um, hello, you're morally supporting me right now," Lorelai pointed out. "Distance will never interrupt the power of our moral support capabilities. Even if the campaign trail takes you all the way to Siberia, it's not gonna make the support you give me any less effective."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I don't think he'll be rallying for votes over in Siberia, but I get your point."

"Good." Lorelai leaned back in her chair and let out a soft sigh. "So, I suggested that we each come up with a list of topics. That way we can keep the talk somewhat organized and make sure we discuss everything we need to discuss."

"Lists, huh? How very _Rory Gilmore_ of you," Rory commented.

"Yes, I knew you'd be proud."

"So is yours done?" Rory asked.

Lorelai glanced down at her list on the desk in front of her. "Yeah, for the most part. I've been adding little things here and there as I think of 'em but I think the bulk of it is done." She made a face and turned the paper over. "But, anyway, enough about that... tell me about you. What's new since yesterday?"

"Not a whole lot," Rory replied. "I'm working on my next article. And I've been getting some good feedback on the first one. I posted the link in a couple different places online."

"You still have to help me sign up for some of those other sites so I can stalk you all over the internet," Lorelai reminded her.

"I will," Rory promised.

"Oh, speaking of which, random people from high school keep finding me and requesting me to be their friend on that first site." Lorelai groaned. "Why… _why_ would they do that? I didn't like talking to them in high school, why would I wanna talk to them now?"

"Just accept the requests from people you actually liked," Rory pointed out. "You don't have to accept them all."

"I haven't been," Lorelai replied. "But I _have_ developed a new hobby. Well, I did it _once_… I'm not sure how many times you have to do something for it to be officially considered a hobby."

"What is it?"

"Well, if I get a request from someone that I used to share a mutual hatred with in high school, I go to their page and look through their pictures just to see if I'm aging better than them."

"Wow, sounds like a valuable use of time," Rory commented with a small laugh. "So what's the tally?"

"I would definitely be the hottest woman at any sort of high school reunion," Lorelai declared proudly.

"So I guess congratulations are in order."

"Seriously, I don't know what kind of stressful lives these people have been through, but some of them look a good ten years older than me," Lorelai said incredulously. "Is it possible that having a child so young somehow stunted my own aging process?"

"I'm not sure, but if that's the case, you're welcome."

"I owe you," Lorelai said. "And I guess I should send Chris a thank you card for that as well."

"Right." There was a brief pause, then Rory hesitantly said, "So, speaking of which, I guess that'll be a main topic tonight…"

"What, Chris?" Lorelai asked. "Yeah, odds are pretty high."

"It's gonna be hard, isn't it?" Rory asked softly. "Talking about Dad?"

Lorelai sighed as she put her hand under her chin and leaned her elbow against the desk. "Yeah, it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be really hard."

"Well, maybe it won't be as hard as you think it'll be," Rory said hopefully. "Maybe you're building up this talk in your head because you're nervous, but it'll end up going a lot smoother than you think."

"I hope so. Just… send some happy thoughts my way, okay? Let's try to get a good vibe going."

"Okay, I will," Rory promised. "I should go. I'll try to text you later on, but good luck. I want full details."

"Okay, sweets," Lorelai said. "Love you."

"Love you, Mom."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That evening, Lorelai arrived home from work, changed into comfortable clothes, and walked Paul Anka. When they returned to the house, she fed him and then grabbed the phone and sat down on the couch. She dialed the diner, and Luke answered after a few rings.

"Luke's."

"Hey, it's me," she greeted him.

Luke's voice lowered and softened. "Oh, hey."

"Just wanted to get an ETA," Lorelai said. "What time you think you'll be here?"

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Probably like an hour. Caesar's gonna close up, but I wanna help him finish up the dinner rush."

"Okay."

"So, did you eat already?"

"Yeah, I grabbed something at the inn before I left," Lorelai replied. "But I would not be opposed to someone showing up at my house with dessert… hint, hint."

Luke smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." There was a brief pause, then he said, "So, I guess I'll see you in a little while."

"Okay… bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped it on the couch next to her. She was startled a few seconds later when it rang, and she quickly answered it, "Pie, cake, brownies… whatever you have."

"Excuse me?" Emily's voice replied. "Pie? Cake?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Mom?"

"What kind of person answers the phone like that?"

"Um, a very hungry sugar-addict?"

"Clearly. You must be expecting a call from the Tastykake company."

Lorelai sighed. "So, uh, what can I do for you, Mom?"

"Have you seen _Les Mis_ on Broadway?" Emily asked.

"Uh, no, can't say that I have," Lorelai replied. "Why?"

"One of your father's clients gave him two tickets, but we just realized that we're going to be in Martha's Vineyard that week," Emily explained. "Would you be interested in going?"

"Uh, yeah, maybe. When is it?"

"The 23rd," Emily replied.

"The 23rd, the 23rd," Lorelai muttered, trying to remember if that date sounded familiar for any reason. "Uh, yeah, I think I can swing that. You sure?"

"Yes, they're going to go to waste otherwise," Emily said. "I'll give them to you on Friday at dinner."

"Okay, thanks."

"You're welcome," Emily replied. "I'll let you get back to waiting for your mysterious pastry-related call. We'll see you on Friday."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

An hour later, Luke arrived at the house with some pie and donuts from the diner. They walked to the kitchen and he set the containers on the table.

"You want any of this now or you wanna save it for later?" Luke asked as he gestured to the food.

"Later," she replied. "We're probably gonna need a break." She walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of alcohol and two shot glasses.

Luke glanced at her warily. "What are you doing?"

Lorelai set the glasses on the kitchen table. "I think a little pre-conversation pep talk from Mr. Belvedere might help ease us into this," she said, tapping a fingernail on the side of the vodka bottle. "Just one shot to relax us a little."

She poured vodka into the shot glasses, then handed one to him. They clanked them together before knocking them back in unison. Lorelai grimaced slightly and shook her head. "Ugh, strong."

"Uh, yeah, straight vodka tends to be strong," Luke remarked as he put his shot glass on the table. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and then pulled his list from his pocket. "So… you ready to do this?"

Lorelai nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be." She grabbed her list from her purse on the kitchen chair, and he followed her down the hallway to the living room. They sat on either ends of the couch, their bodies turned to face each other.

"Okay, I guess we'll just take turns picking something from our list to talk about?" Lorelai suggested. "And we'll talk it out until we agree to move to the next topic?"

"Sounds good," he agreed.

"And obviously, some of the topics might be a little…_heavy_," Lorelai said. "But we should try to discuss things calmly without getting too defensive. Okay?"

"Okay," Luke agreed, and then nodded toward her list. "You can go first."

Lorelai glanced down at her list, even though she knew exactly which topic she needed to discuss first. But she needed a moment to prepare. It was tough, she realized, to tell the person you love about how they disappointed you.

The silence in the room was deafening as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Wow, this is hard," she muttered.

"Take your time," he said softly.

Lorelai finally lifted her head to look at him. "Okay, well… one thing we never really talked in depth about is _why_ you didn't tell me about April as soon as you found out about her."

Luke inhaled sharply as he felt his body tense up.

"I mean, Luke, you had this incredibly huge thing going on," Lorelai continued. "And you _hid it_ from your fiancée, like you didn't trust me enough to tell me, or... I don't know. I just..." Lorelai glanced down at her lap for a few seconds, then whispered, "It hurt me so much that you didn't tell me about her, Luke."

She lifted her head to meet his gaze, and Luke realized immediately that this talk was going to be even harder than he imagined it would be. Her eyes were filled with sadness, as if all the emotions of that moment were rushing back into her.

"I wanted to tell you, Lorelai, I just didn't know how to," Luke started. "I was nervous that it would cause... I don't know... complications or something, and I didn't wanna deal with that yet. I just wanted to figure things out on my own and _then_ tell you."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed with confusion. "But what was there to figure out? The minute you found out about her, that's _all_ there was to figure out. That's it, end of story. You had a _kid_, Luke. You had a kid that you needed to work into your life, and I was part of your life."

"I know that."

Lorelai took a deep breath and fidgeted anxiously with her necklace. "I just don't understand what I did to make you not want to tell me."

Luke's voice immediately softened. "Lorelai, you didn't do anything. It was me... I just, I was thinking I needed to straighten this out on my own."

"But Luke, when you're in a relationship, you can't revert back to your loner days when something big happens," she told him. "You need to share things with your partner. Anything that affected you affected me. It was you and me against the world, remember? Not you alone against the world, and certainly not _Luke against Lorelai_, which is what it felt like."

"I know, I know I screwed up," Luke agreed adamantly. "I don't even have a reason why I acted that way, I just… don't know. I followed an impulse, and it was wrong." He shook his head disappointedly. "I'm sorry, I should've told you the second I found out."

"Yes, you should have," she said firmly. "That was something that could've been exciting for us to deal with together… but instead it turned into a very negative situation."

"I know, it was a mistake, I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I handled it wrong, I made things more complicated than they needed to be… I admit that."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay. But Luke, if we're together, we have to trust each other with everything that's going on," she said firmly. "Whether it's big or small or life-changing, we have to tell each other _everything_. No secrets." Lorelai had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, remembering when Luke gave her a similar speech.

He nodded in agreement. "No secrets."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." To soften the mood, she smiled and added, "Unless, of course, you're planning some sort of surprise party in my honor, then you can keep _that_ a secret."

Luke smiled. "Gotcha."

"Good."

"So... we're okay on this one?" Luke asked hesitantly.

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess. Honestly, I still don't fully grasp the reasoning behind not telling me, but it seems like you don't know the answer either. So it's just gonna be something we can't quite figure out but we accept that it happened and we move on, like _Vanilla Sky_."

"Okay."

"But we both know that we need to be one hundred percent open going forward…right?"

Luke nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Okay. Then I guess we're okay on this one." Lorelai gestured to his list sitting on the couch in front on him. "Your turn."

He picked up his list, which was written on the back of a blank diner receipt. He was hesitant to go right for the heaviest topic, but it was the one he most needed to hear about.

Luke took a deep breath and looked at her. "I need to know about that night... that night you went to him." Luke glanced down at the couch cushion. "Why did you do that?"

Lorelai closed her eyes. All of the worrying she did about this topic _before_ the talk did not prepare her for how she felt in that moment. Her heart started racing, her head was spinning, her stomach felt nauseous. When she opened her eyes, he was still staring down at the couch cushion.

"Luke..." she said softly.

Luke lifted his head to meet her gaze. The pain in his eyes was evident, and she hated that she was the reason for it. He shook his head slightly and whispered, "It _killed_ me that you did that, Lorelai."

Lorelai felt tears instantly well up in her eyes, and a blink sent them rolling down her cheeks. "I didn't mean for that to happen," she whispered as she wiped her eyes. "I didn't go there to do... _that_. I just needed to talk to someone."

"Then _why_ did you go there?" he asked. "Why did you go to _him_? Of all the places you could've gone that night, why there?"

Lorelai shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know, I was upset and needed someone to talk to and he was on my mind. I had just seen him at dinner, so I - "

"Wait, what?" Luke cut her off, his eyes wide with confusion. "What do you mean you saw him at dinner?"

"Rory and I had Friday night dinner that night, and my mom had invited him."

Luke took a deep breath and quickly huffed it back out. "Was your mom trying to get you back together with him, even though we were _engaged_?"

"No, she wasn't," Lorelai quickly replied. "My mother shanghaied him with a blind date, the daughter of one of her friends. She was a..."

Lorelai suddenly paused and glanced down at her fidgeting hands as she recalled how that night at her parents' house ended. Memories flashed in her mind of her sitting in the back of a car in her parents' driveway, pouring out her heart to a complete stranger.

"She was a _what_?" Luke prompted her.

"Like a therapist or psychologist or something," Lorelai replied softly.

Luke could tell there was more to that revelation, so he stared at her, waiting for her to continue. He watched her face, knowing _something_ was going through her mind. "Lorelai?"

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Um, the therapist... I talked to her after dinner, in her car. About you, about us…about how I felt like you were pushing me away..."

Luke nodded quickly, feeling some anger start to rise up in him. "And what'd she tell you to do? Did she tell you to give me that ultimatum?"

"No, she didn't," she replied firmly. "She just said that some things aren't meant to be...and that I'd never get what I wanted if I didn't ask for it." Lorelai swallowed hard. "So I went to you and asked for what I wanted." She shrugged and glanced down at her hands. "And I didn't get it. And you let me walk away… you didn't come after me."

Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead with his palms. "I needed time to think."

"You shouldn't have had to think, Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed, her voice rising. "I came to you desperate and upset and heartbroken, begging for you to show me how much I meant to you... and you couldn't do it." Lorelai shook her head sadly and softened her voice. "To me, that meant we were done. We were _over_. The man I loved had rejected me, and it was the most devastating moment of my entire life." She quickly wiped the tears that started to well in her eyes.

Luke sighed. "Lorelai..."

She took a deep breath and continued, "I didn't wanna go home to an empty house…I didn't wanna be alone. I needed someone to talk to, someone who _knew_ me and would just listen to me..." Lorelai paused. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"Yes," Luke replied, then quickly added, "No."

"Which is it?"

"I don't know."

"Well, how about I keep talking, and you tell me when to stop," she suggested.

Luke nodded. "Okay."

"So, after our blowup in front of the diner, I needed to be with _someone_, to not feel alone. So I went to Chris' apartment. I was upset, I was crying." Lorelai closed her eyes, picturing that awful night in her mind. "We had some wine, and he was listening and comforting me, and then - "

"Okay, okay," Luke interrupted, holding up his hand. "Stop."

Lorelai promptly stopped talking and began chewing uncomfortably on the inside of her cheek.

Luke started wringing his hands aimlessly and then began ranting. "Okay, quick question comes to mind - did you ever stop to think about what kind of an asshole would do that? You show up at a guy's door heartbroken, upset, vulnerable, probably still had _my_ ring on your finger - and he decides, _yeah, she seems stable enough for me to take to bed_? What kind of a man does that?"

Lorelai sighed and shook her head disappointedly. "It just happened, Luke. It was a mistake. Most mistakes are caused by people not putting a whole lotta thought into their actions."

"Clearly."

"But you need to understand one thing," she pleaded desperately. "I did _not_ go there with the intentions of sleeping with him, I promise you that."

Luke shook his head slightly. "Honestly, I don't know if that makes it better or worse, Lorelai. Is letting something like that _accidentally_ happen any better than _planning_ for it to happen?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, probably not."

"Cheating is cheating, whether it's planned or not," he said. "We could've resolved things… we could've worked everything out if you didn't do that."

Lorelai sighed. "Okay, I don't know if cheating's the right word here. I know that it sort of _looks_ like I cheated on you, but technically - "

Luke interrupted her with a loud scoff. "How else could it possibly look, Lorelai? You slept with someone else while we were together… that's cheating! There's no other way to look at it!"

"We were done!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I gave you a chance to keep me and you rejected me, so we were done!"

"Oh, that's bull and you know it!" he retorted. "We were _not_ done, we were in a _fight_! When you walk away from a fight, it means you're done with the _fight_, it doesn't mean you're done with the relationship…there was no talk about us being done for good!"

"I made myself pretty damn clear that it was now or never," Lorelai insisted. "And you didn't choose _now_…so, to me, we were done!"

"Well, to me, we were still together!" Luke replied angrily through clenched teeth.

"But to me, we were _broken up_!" Lorelai exclaimed, then she shook her head and muttered, "Oh my God, all these years of being on Rachel's side, and now I'm the Ross."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you're trying to use that as an excuse."

"It's not an excuse! I'm just trying to tell you that - " Lorelai's voice trailed off and she took a few deep breaths to try calm her emotions. "Luke, just hear my side…please…calmly…"

Luke took his cap off, ran his fingers through his hair, and then replaced the cap on his head. He took a deep breath and looked at her expectantly. "Go ahead."

"In my mind, the minute you didn't accept my…" She cringed to call it what it really was."…ultimatum, we were broken up, we were done for good. That's _why_ I was so devastated that night, that's _why_ I was so upset - because to me, we weren't in some fight that I expected to be fixed in a day or two. To me, I had just lost the only man I'd ever loved, and it felt like my whole world just…" Lorelai sniffled and paused to wipe the tears that had started to run down her cheeks. "God, this is so hard."

They were both quiet as she took a moment to try to compose herself.

Finally, she looked at him with red, teary eyes and continued, "Look, I _know_ that it doesn't matter whether we were broken up or not, I _know_ it was an awful thing to do that night either way. But I really did consider us done, and that's _why_ I was such a mess, Luke… losing you _destroyed_ me. It was like I was in a daze just going through the motions and I did stupid things that I didn't mean to do." Lorelai sniffled as she choked out, "I'm sorry... I wish I could take it back... it was a mistake." She covered her face with her hands, and her body started shaking as she cried.

Luke's anger dissipated as he saw how sincerely remorseful she was. He hated seeing her so upset, and he slid across the couch to be next to her. "Lorelai...come here." He pulled her into a hug and she cried against his shoulder as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I regret that night, Luke," she muttered. "I will _always_ regret that night."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "I know."

"I know I screwed up," she said softly. "And I get it if you can't forgive me for that."

Luke pulled back to look at her. "Lorelai, I wouldn't be here if I didn't forgive you."

Lorelai sniffled and blinked a few times. "Really? You do?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I just needed to hear your side of it… to try to understand what happened. To find out… why you did it."

Lorelai ran her thumb across the stubble on his chin. "I know how much it must've hurt you."

"Yeah, I didn't take it too well," he admitted.

Lorelai frowned. "I'm sorry… I'm _so_ sorry." She leaned her head back against his chest.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." Luke wrapped his arms around her and they were both quiet for a minute.

Finally, he took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "We can't change the past. I guess… we just have to agree that we both made mistakes we're not proud of… things we would've done differently. Both on that night, and in general…"

Lorelai pulled back from him and nodded. "Yeah."

"Live and learn, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so…"

"So… we can check this one off the list?" Lorelai asked hesitantly. "Next topic?"

"Next topic," he agreed as he moved back to the other side of the couch.

Lorelai glanced down at her list, and then back at him. "I guess this one kinda tags on to my first topic. Even after I found out about April, you still kept us apart. I couldn't _meet her_, I couldn't _see her_… you wanted me to have no involvement in that part of your life. I mean, you introduced her to Jess _in another state_ before you introduced her to _me._"

"Well, he's her _cousin_," Luke replied. "She needed to meet her family."

"But I was going to be your _wife_, Luke," Lorelai retorted. "Do you know how much it hurt me when you were leaving for that trip and you told me you were going to visit Jess so he could meet her?" She shook her head. "You must not have, because you said it to me so casually, like it was nothing, like it was completely normal for you to introduce her to everyone else _before_ the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with."

Luke sighed loudly. "Okay, I get it…I admit it, I screwed up." He paused a second before continuing. "Look, I told you, I just thought I needed time to get to know her… to build some sort of relationship with her. But I realize that was the wrong way to do it... I'm sorry, I get that now. I know you should've been involved from the beginning, I know I shouldn't have kept you separate. Okay? I get it now."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Right, I know, you said a few weeks ago that you realized that you were maybe compartmentalizing or whatever… maybe using her to push me away…" Lorelai's voice trailed off and she nibbled on her bottom lip.

Luke frowned apologetically. "Yeah, I think so… I didn't mean to."

"I get that," Lorelai assured him. "And I'm glad you realized it. But…I need to know that going forward, you're _still_ gonna realize it."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, there can't be a separation between me and April," Lorelai said firmly. "If you and I are together, then I should be in her life…I should get to know her and she should get to know me. Right?"

Luke nodded in agreement. "Of course."

"I mean, I'm all for you and her having plenty of alone father/daughter bonding time," Lorelai told him. "But I need to be able to interact with her when she visits, you know? I need to feel like you're not keeping her and I in separate compartments anymore."

"I don't want you to be in separate compartments," he assured her. "I want us all together in the same compartment."

Lorelai smiled, but she eyed him curiously. "Really?"

"Yeah." Luke shook his head disappointedly. "I've beaten myself up over this a lot the past year. Thinking about what could have happened if I'd handled things better. Like what if I'd told you about April from the start, what if I didn't…you know, push you away? Then we wouldn't have fought and you wouldn't have gone to him and… " Luke's voice trailed off and he shrugged. "I don't know. Just… a lot of what-ifs that could've led us to a very different place."

Lorelai nodded. "I've played the what-if game a lot the past year, too," she said softly. "And I realized I shouldn't have pretended I was okay with everything when I wasn't. I mean, I just kept going along with it and let you think I was fine, but maybe if we'd talked it out sooner…" Lorelai shrugged. "Who knows."

"We kind of hit a communication breakdown at some point," he surmised.

Lorelai nodded. "And that's when things fell apart."

"We have to make sure that doesn't happen again," Luke stated firmly. "Like we said before, let's just agree we tell each other everything, no matter what. We talk everything out. Okay?"

Lorelai nodded in agreement and extended her hand toward him to shake on it. "I'm in."

Luke smiled as he shook her hand. "Deal."

"Good." Lorelai glanced down at her list. "Okay, I think we're good with this one. Your turn."

Luke glanced down at his list, then brought his gaze back to her. "Tell me about your marriage."

Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "My _marriage_?"

Luke shrugged. "Yeah. There's almost a year of your life that I don't know much about, and I want you to fill in the blanks."

"Yeah, that goes both ways," Lorelai said. "I've done some wondering about you, too."

"Open book," he declared. "You can ask me whatever you want."

"Okay." Lorelai paused a moment, then wrinkled her nose. "So, the marriage, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't need every little detail, just the basics… when it happened, why it ended, stuff like that."

Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm." She smoothed her hands over her straight hair and secured it back using the ponytail holder from her wrist. She tightened the ponytail at the nape of her neck, then leaned back against the arm of the couch with a sigh. "Okay."

Lorelai gave him a summary of her relationship with Chris, from their slow courtship to their impromptu elopement in Paris to their eventual demise. She talked openly about the downward spiral that occurred after Chris came across the character reference.

She explained her realization that Chris wasn't _the one_, and that he'd been correctly suspicious of her having lingering feelings for Luke. She told him that she and Chris had seen each other at Rory's graduation ceremony and after-party, and were still amicable post-divorce.

"So…that's basically it," Lorelai finished. "Questions, comments, concerns?"

Lorelai couldn't read his expression, and started to feel nervous as she waited for him to say something. "Luke?"

"So, basically," Luke finally said. "It seems like your heart wasn't really fully in it."

Lorelai shook her head. "It couldn't be." She moved slowly across the couch until she was next to him. She rested her hands on his knees as she softly said, "I couldn't let you go. I think, maybe… I love you too much to _ever_ be capable of that."

_I love you._ He hadn't heard those words from her in so long, and he'd forgotten how good it felt to hear them. Sure, her feelings were implied during her admitted serenade, but hearing her say it directly to him with such sincerity was an incomparable feeling.

Luke smiled and rested his hands on her waist. "I love you, too," he said softly. "Never stopped."

Lorelai grinned as a tingle rushed down her spine, and she leaned forward to kiss him. When she pulled back, Luke noticed her eyes were teary, and he gently wiped them with his thumbs.

"Happy tears," she quickly explained before taking a deep breath. "It just feels good to say that to each other again, you know?"

"I know," he agreed with a nod. "Feels great_._"

Lorelai took his hand into hers and gently stroked his palm. "Um, it kind of brings me to something else on my list… if we're done with the marriage topic?"

"Yeah, I think so," Luke replied.

"Okay." She sandwiched his hand between hers as she stared into his eyes. "Well, I think that whole lack of communication thing we went through kind of made us a little…" Lorelai hesitated as she searched for the right word. "Um…unexpressive?"

"Unexpressive," he repeated, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Yeah, with our feelings," Lorelai explained.

"Ah, I see," Luke said.

"I mean, until I was with you, I didn't really grasp how important it was for a couple to be open about that, you know?" Lorelai swallowed hard as she squeezed his hand. "I guess because with everyone else, it wasn't _real_… but now that I have these _real_ feelings, I get it. I get how a relationship needs that. So I think we should try to make sure we're good about letting the other person know we care." Lorelai grimaced slightly before asking, "Is that okay?"

Luke was curiously amused by her expression. "Yeah, it's fine… why do you look nervous?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, because you're a guy and you might think it's stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid," he assured her. "Guys like to hear that stuff, too, you know."

"And I'm not saying we need to be super cutesy and call each other every hour to tell each other how adorable we are," Lorelai said. "But we also shouldn't be going weeks at a time without saying something nice or sweet to each other. We need a happy medium."

"Okay," he agreed. "And if one of us thinks the other person is slacking, we need to say it. Because it seems like that was maybe something that bothered you before."

"Yeah," Lorelai admitted. "It did."

"We're gonna get better at that," he told her. "The communication stuff."

"Yeah. We will." Lorelai took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. "Break time?" she suggested, and Luke nodded.

They stood up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen. Soon they were sitting at the kitchen table, each picking at a piece of pie.

"You know, we don't have to finish all this tonight," Luke said. "I mean, if it's too much."

Lorelai looked down at her plate, then at his. "Too much pie? Nah, I think we can handle it."

"I meant the lists," Luke clarified. "If you wanted to pick up with the rest tomorrow."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm good to keep going. You good?"

"I'm good," he confirmed.

"I think we're making pretty good progress, don't you?"

"Yeah." Luke ate a small bite of pie, then asked, "So, um…what happens next? I mean, we get through these lists and… then what?"

Lorelai put her fork on her plate and finished chewing the food in her mouth. She swallowed it down, and then eyed him for a second. "Well… we can do whatever we want."

"So…what do you want?"

"What do _you_ want?" she countered.

Luke smirked. "I asked you first."

"Well, we're officially twelve," Lorelai declared.

Luke smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I figured we'd talk things out and then we'd start dating again, I guess. That's kind of what I thought the plan was."

"Yeah, that was the plan," she agreed.

"And you're still on board with that plan?" Luke asked, sensing a bit of hesitation on her part.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. If we get through the rest of the lists and we're both comfortable with everything…then yeah, we start dating…"

Luke eyed her expression. "I feel like there's a _but_…"

Lorelai smiled. "Very astute. The _but_ is that we really do have to be comfortable with _everything_. What we're doing tonight, this _talk_... we can't hold back. If there's something we wanna ask, we need to ask it."

"Agreed."

"Okay, good. Then we'll get through the rest, and make sure we're both good to go before we leave Friendtown and enter Coupleville."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Okay."

They finished their snack break and headed back into the living room for round two. As Lorelai sat down on the couch, Luke slowly glanced around the room with his arms folded across his chest. "It's my turn to pick a topic, right?" he asked.

"Yes."

"So, I'm curious," Luke said as he sat down on the couch. "When you were living here with him in this house, did you ever think about how we spent all that time and money remodeling it for _our_ future?"

"Of course I did," she said softly.

"And then it suddenly became part of some other guy's future," Luke continued. "All these things we picked out together… all the changes we made for _us_…"

"Every day, Luke," Lorelai interrupted. "Every day I thought about it, every day I was reminded of it."

"It pissed me off," Luke admitted. "Knowing you two were in here, living your happy little married life in _our_ house." He took a deep breath. "Well, it wasn't technically _ours_, but... you know what I mean…"

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "I know. I would be upset, too." She frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry… I know that had to be hard for you."

"Yeah, well…" Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing we can do about it, just wanted to get that off my chest."

"That's what this is for," Lorelai said as she gestured around the room. "Safe haven… a place of sharing."

Luke nodded. "Your turn."

Lorelai didn't need to look at her list to know what she wanted to ask next. "When we were apart, were you… dating?"

Luke shrugged. "Eventually, I went on a date or two. Nothing serious."

"So, you didn't - " Lorelai started to probe for more details but then stopped herself. "Okay."

"You can ask if you want," Luke told her, then gestured around the room. "Safe haven, remember?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she hesitated to continue the topic.

Luke leaned forward, knowing what she wanted to hear. "I wasn't _with_ anyone else, Lorelai."

Lorelai slowly nodded, trying not to visibly show her relief, considering she _had been_ with someone else. "Okay."

Luke smirked. "You liked that answer."

Lorelai smiled and shyly glanced down. "Yeah, sorry… hypocritical reflex. I mean, I was with someone, so it shouldn't matter if you were, too, but…"

Luke shrugged and waved her off. "It's fine, I get it. I'd be the same way."

"Okay, new topic. Your turn."

"Your parents… they hate me," Luke stated matter-of-factly.

Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "They don't hate you."

"They don't think I'm good enough for you."

"They don't think _anyone_ is good enough."

"Except Christopher?"

Lorelai sucked in a deep breath and glanced down at the couch as she let it out. "Well, that's a moot point now."

"Yeah, but they still don't like me," Luke pointed out.

"Not true," Lorelai insisted. "They came around to the idea of us, they were on board with our wedding… they got better."

"But now we're gonna be starting all over from scratch again," Luke said. "Like I'll have to prove myself to them again."

"No, no way," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "They know you, you have a history with them… it'll be better this time around."

"You haven't told them that we're… whatever we are?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I didn't think I should tell them until we were… an official _thing_ to tell."

"But you _will_ tell them?" Luke asked. "When we are a thing?"

"Yes, I'll tell them," she confirmed. "Of course I'll tell them."

"Because they're only gonna take it seriously if you make them realize it is," Luke pointed out. "Can't just brush it off and act like it's no big deal."

"I know, I get it," Lorelai assured him. "They will know that it's a big deal. Don't worry about Emily and Richard."

Luke eyed her warily but nodded. "Okay."

Noticing his lingering doubt, Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Really, they won't be an issue, Luke." She spoke confidently, but wasn't as completely worry-free inside as she tried to sound.

"Okay."

They went through the remaining items on their lists, jumping back and forth until they'd covered everything. As they finished up the last topic, Lorelai crumbled up her list into a ball and threw it across the room. "Done," she declared.

Luke slouched down low on the couch cushion and put his feet up on the coffee table. "That was exhausting, huh?"

"Yeah, but productive and successful." Lorelai stretched her legs across the couch and rested her feet on his lap.

"Very." He put his hand on her lower leg and rubbed it gently over her soft yoga pants. He glanced down at her leg and then met her gaze. "I can do this now, right?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We have destroyed all the boundaries of the transition period."

"We did good," he commented. "You know, the past week… keeping things casual, doing things right, talking everything out. It feels good."

"I'm proud of us," Lorelai agreed. "And now that we've talked and we're both good with everything… you may officially declare your intentions to court me."

Luke chuckled and affectionately squeezed her calf. "Do I have to give a speech of some kind?"

"Yes, ideally it would be a minimum of ten minutes long and include at least fifty adjectives describing my beauty," Lorelai told him.

Luke smiled. "So, just saying… _you're amazing and I wanna court you_… that wouldn't suffice?"

Lorelai furrowed her brow, considering it. "Hm, that works, too," she surmised. "Simple yet effective."

"That's me."

Lorelai nodded as she stifled a yawn, and Luke patted her leg. "I should go, let you get to bed. It's been a long day for both of us."

"Okay." Lorelai moved her legs off of him, and they stood up from the couch. She took his hand and led him to the front door, where they turned to face each other.

"So… do you accept my offer of courtship?" Luke asked her with a smirk.

Lorelai smiled and backed herself up against the front door, pulling him with her by the sleeve of his flannel. She cradled his face in her hands and pulled him close for a kiss. His arms quickly enveloped her, pulling her body tightly against his as he deepened the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, Lorelai breathlessly whispered against his lips, "I accept."

Luke smiled. "Good."

Lorelai was quiet for a second as she fingered the collar of his flannel shirt, then said softly, "Luke…what happened to the horoscope?"

A smile slowly formed on Luke's lips. "Nothing. Same place it's always been."

Lorelai let out a small gasp of surprise. "Really? The whole time?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I thought about taking it out, especially in the beginning when I was so mad…" He ran his hands down her arms and rested them on her waist. "But I needed it there, Lorelai… I needed it with me. Because as hurt and as mad as I was, I wasn't ready to let you go."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, good thing you kept it… it brought you luck."

"Yeah." Luke kissed her again, then pulled back slowly. "Goodnight."

Lorelai reluctantly let go of the grasp she had on his flannel. "Goodnight." She watched as he pulled open the front door and headed out to his truck. She waved goodbye from the doorway as he drove off, and then gently closed the front door.

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**To be continued…**

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**Author's Note:** Thank you all for your patience as I slowly built up to this chapter and the _talk_, and your continued support of this story! Feedback, as always, is appreciated. :)

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